Scandalous amendments to law on terrorism passed

The “house of representatives” passed amendments to the law on the fight against terrorism and the law on counter-extremism.

As KGB chief Vadzim Zaitsau said, the draft law sets additional measures “to ensure safety of the Republic of Belarus from internal and external threats and improve mechanisms of eliminating such threats”.

Amendments to the law on the fight against terrorism change the definition of “terrorism” interpreting it as a phenomenon, not an action:

“Terrorism is a socially political and criminal phenomenon that includes ideology and practice of using violence or threats of violence with the aim of exerting influence on decision-making of government bodies or hindering political or other public activity, violating public safety, intimidating public, provoking international complications, war or destabilisation of the domestic situation in the states.”

The new definition covers public and political activity as a whole. Now, a strike or a street action falls under the definition of “terrorism”, because any unsanctioned action can be interpreted by the authorities as “a threat of violence”.

Army can be involved in carrying out counter-terrorist operations.

The law on counter-extremism was amended too. The draft law obliges officers of governmental bodies responsible for counter-extremism to seize information materials containing calls for extremist activity and promoting this activity. At present, these bodies include agencies of state security and internal affairs, prosecutor's office.

Ministry of Information will also be involved in the fight against terrorism and extremism. According to Zaitsau, the ministry will prevent publishing information in media if spreading this information is forbidden.

As charter97.org website reported earlier, the Ministry of Information found extremist the materials published by independent media. After the 2010 presidential elections, Avtoradio was accused of spreading the “information containing calls for extremist activity”. It was the way officials interpreted presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov's words “the country's future will defined not in the kitchen, but on the square”.