Journalists and human rights activists want KGB to tell about arrest of Alesin

Viasna human rights centre and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) have released a statement on the occasion of reports about the arrest of Aliaksandr Alesin.

Journalists and human rights defenders call on the Belarusian KGB to inform the public about the reason for the arrest and the whereabouts of a BAJ member and journalist of Belorusy i Rynok newspaper and explain the sense of the charges, the website of Viasna human rights centre writes.

“Citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall be guaranteed the right to receive, store and disseminate complete, reliable and timely information of the activities of state bodies and public associations, on political, economic, cultural and international life, and on the state of the environment (article 34 of the Constitution),” the statement says. “The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights reads: Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds.”

Exercising these rights imposes special duties and responsibility, the authors of the statement write. It can be associated with certain restrictions that, however, should be established by law and be essential elements for the respect for the rights and reputation of other persons, the protection of the state security, public order, health or morality of the population.

“We believe that the information about the detention and the arrest of a person, the sense of charges and accusations, his or her status in the investigation, his or her whereabouts and other aspects that do not bear relation to details of a criminal case cannot violate a legal ban on revealing details of an investigation and does not pose a threat to the interests of the state security and public order.

Viasna human rights centre and the Belarusian Association of Journalists call on the relevant agencies – a prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB and the Investigation Committee – to inform via the mass media and their own websites about every high-profile or strategic case of the restriction of a citizen's rights,” the statement says. “Viasna human rights centre and the BAJ recall that regardless of the charges, detained persons can exercise all rights, except for those restricted by the very fact of holding them under arrest; torture as well as cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is prohibited.”