Criminal cases opened against political prisoners’ lawyers

The Minsk main police department opened two criminal cases on KGB materials against lawyer Tatsyana Aheeva, who was disbarred by the Ministry of Justice three months ago.

We remind that in February 2011, the Ministry of Justice disbarred four lawyers, who defended the accused in the case over post-election protests on December 19, 2010. Aleh Aheeu, a lawyer of presidential candidate Alyaksei Mikhalevich; his mother Tatsyana Aheeva as well as Uladzimir Toustsik and Tamara Haraeva found themselves in disgrace, “Yezhednevnik” writes.

According to the Ministry of Justice a decision was taken following the results of a scheduled inspection in the Minsk City Bar that revealed “gross violations of legislation incompatible with occupying position of a lawyer”.

Aleh Aheeu and Tatsyana Aheeva were disbarred for “gross violations of the order of execution of agreement on legal assistance, impeding a licensing body in carrying out control over observance of legislation by means of providing it with false data”.

Uladzimir Toustsik and Tamara Haraeva were disbarred for “gross violations of legislation on licensing by means of a refusal to render legal assistance to Iryna Khalip”. As the father of Iryna Khalip explained Euroradio, the lawyers had not refused.

“I am surprised with this matter. The actions of the Ministry look absurd. Why do they worry so much? Where they have this information from? They should have questioned the clients about these events and then delivered a decision. This decision is absolutely ungrounded. Toustsik never refused to defend my daughter!” Uladzimir Khalip said.

Three months after the disbarment, the authorities began to open criminal cases against the lawyers. Tatsyana Aheeva became the first accused. She is charged with the same things the Ministry of Justice accused her of earlier, but with a reference not to the Ministry’s inspection, but to KGB materials. It is even stranger, because activity of lawyers does not fall in the sphere of interests of the KGB. Crimes under such criminal articles are usually investigated by police.

Tatsyana Aheeva is charged with committing a crime under part 1 of article 380 of the Crimnal Code (forgery, making, using or selling forged documents, stamps, and forms) and part 2 (forgery, making, using or selling forged documents, stamps, and forms committed more than once or by a group by previous concert).

According to KGB, Tatsyana Aheeva, a lawyer at the legal office of the Zavadski district, give intentionally false date to an agreement on a criminal case and lawyer’s personal account and submitted them to a bookkeeper at the Presidium of the Minsk City Bar as a ground for monthly salary in summer 2010. The lawyer allegedly did the same in September 2010.

It is yet difficult to say if the KGB claims have grounds. One can just hope for investigators and court. But even today the interest of the KGB to such trifles as Ministry of Justice’s routine inspection controlled by the KGB seems strange.

There is no information about criminal cases against other lawyers. But “Yezhednevnik” managed to figure out, Tatsyana Aheeva’s son, who defended Ales Mikhalevich, is being checked to find his involvement in the crime.