COMMENTARIES TO THE US STATE DEPT’S REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN BELARUS :: Charter'97 :: News

Commentary to the report on human rights situation in Belarus in 2002, prepared by the Bureau for democracy, human rights and labor relations of the US Department of State, was presented at today’s press-conference in Minsk by Charter’97 organizing committee member Nikolai Khalezin. “We deemed it important to release our commentaries to the State Department’s report, for, in our view, the report isn’t complete. It doesn’t reflect a number of tendencies, which are so vital. Some of these tendencies are part of the old ones and others are totally new, which strongly impact the relations between the authorities and citizens of Belarus, regime and opposition, regime and entrepreneurial-industrial sector,” – said Nikolai Khalezin. Following you may familiarize yourselves with the comments made on the US human rights report in Belarus in 2002.

Comments to the 2002 Report on Human Rights Practices (Belarus) released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, US State Department

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of a Person, including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
Paragraph 3: not specified that Andrei Zaitsev was ZUBR Movement’s activist.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

In August there were executed Anton B. and Igor L. (both on death row) at a time when their case were considered by the UN Commission, which is a breach of the International Covenant on civil and political rights, signed by the country. There are cases of deaths in police custody of the detainees awaiting trial. For instance, in the confinement center of Mstislavl Raichenko, arrested for theft, died from heavy injuries, inflicted upon him by officer Kvetkovsky. There also died for no clear reason two citizens, held in the Brest and Minsk confinement centers.
On December 14 in Borisov the unknown assailants beat up ZUBR activist Alesya Yasuk for distributing the newspapers.
On November 17 police detained for no good reason and beat up ZUBR activist Timofei Dranchuk.
On April 5 in Minsk they detained and beat up Gleb Vyazovsky, ZUBR, for gluing the stickers.
On April 19 in Minsk, after a manhunt during the People’s March “Can’t Live Like That!” 6 persons were hospitalized.
During March 24 Minsk action Freedom Day they strongly beat up Dmitry Karpenko of ZUBR.
On July 29 at the entrepreneurial protest they detained Timofei Dranchuk, sending him to serve 10 days in jail under a verdict, whose deadline already expired. The young man was hospitalized in a cardiology department, handcuffed to the bunk. A few plain-closed guards stood on watch at the entrance to his room.

On April 22 following the termination of judicial proceedings organizers of the Protest March Yuri Khaschevatsky, Nikolai Khalezin, ZUBR press-secretary Alexander Otroschenkov and ZUBR activists Karpovich and Vederchenko stayed till 2a.m. in the Sovietsky district police station of Minsk upon the personal command of the head of the Sovietsky district police station Nikolai Buslo. Then all five detainees were carried around the city from 2 to 6a.m. in a police van. They got to the confinement center in Okrestina Street not until 6 in the morning. Khalezin was placed in a cool cell for 2 hours and at 8a.m. was delivered back to the court. His detention in a cell can be regarded as torture by low temperatures. But the humiliations didn’t stop on that. Nikolai Khalezin and ZUBR activist Yaroslav Steshik were held in the Sovietsky district court in the so-called “stakan” – dark cells, 0,9x0,9 meters in size – 6 and 3 hours accordingly. As a result, on the ninth day of detention Khalezin got hospitalized with heart’s malfunction and breathing problems. On April 19 they beat up the detained Yaroslav Steshik, who didn’t resist. They knocked him down and he hit asphalt with his arm, getting a serious trauma. On April 22 in court, when Steshik refused to freely leave the court’s building out of his own as protest against the absence of lawyer, Steshik was cuffed in a way damaging to his tissues and no qualified medical assistance was rendered to him.

d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, and Exile
There aren’t mentioned facts of mass arrests at the street actions: at the March 24, 2002 action, dedicated to the 84th BPR’s anniversary 20 got apprehended in Grodno. As concerns the April 19, 2002 Protest March “Can’t Live Like That!” (See section 2.b, Belarus, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2002, Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 31, 2003) its worth mention that the general number of detainees amounts to 102, out of which around 60 people were held in the district police department of the Sovietsky district without any charges from 3 to 6 hours. 41 people were delivered pending trial to the special confinement center, crammed with inmates. From these 41 persons, arrested and ill-treated, 1 person is “Viasna” activist, 38 – ZUBR activists, 2 Charter’97 organizing committee members. 37 people received different administrative arrests: 3 persons – 15 days, 6 persons – 10 days, 3 persons – 7 days, 12 persons – 5 days, 14 persons – 3 days. On April 19 there were detained around 12 underage people for their part in the action. They spent 2 hours in the juvenile confinement center. They include ZUBR Movement’s activists: Denis Chikalev, Yuri Vasiluk, Alexander Kazakov, Barsukov, Dorina Bolotina.

Almost a month spent in the confinement center Anton Shkurinsky, a defender of Kuropaty. The formal reason for his detention was the absence of passport.

On September 10 in Minsk Alexander Lukashenko’s security service agents captured and held hostage Timofei Dranchuk, whom they also blackmailed.

There also escalated repressions against the country’s directors. On November 26, 2001 the state newspaper “Sovietskaya Belorussiya” wrote: “Over the past fortnight prosecutor instituted 210 criminal cases, sanctioning the imprisonment of 720 individuals”. They mostly mean the heads of state companies and their employees. That moment can be considered the start of annihilation of the opponents of the dictatorial regime. At the moment out of the total number of all Belarusian prisoners 8,5thsd are directors of companies and entrepreneurs. On January 16, 2002 the president issued a decree “On additional measures on regulating economic relations”, which broadly widens the authority of the Committee for state control and provides Lukashenko with a powerful tool for unleashing repressions against directors.

Lengthy pretrial detention periods: In August 2002 KGB arrested on train the former head of the “MinskComplexBank” Evgeny Kravtsov. At present the man is suspected of power abuse. The damage, which he allegedly inflicted on the bank, is estimated by the detectives by millions of dollars.

In December they apprehended first deputy chairman of the “Zolotoi Taler” bank Dmitry Mikhalevich. The article of the Penal Code, which he is indicted for, shocked many. Mikhalevich was charged over getting a $7thsd bribe from some foreigner. They also detained director of the “Kooperativnaya Zagotovitelnaya Torgovlya” of the Mogilev regional society of consumers Anatoly Protasenya. The court found him guilty of power abuse, embezzlement and numerous bribe-taking, sentencing him to 8 years of jail with property confiscation. They also put under arrest the former head of the “Belarus” collective farm Spiridon Podshibyakin. The jury sentenced him to 2 years for embezzlement through power abuse.

On May 21, 2002 economic police unit arrested director of the Minsk champagne factory Mikhail Gordei. The man is accused of getting bribed by a Moldavian firm, which supplied to the company raw materials for the production of champagne and wines.

There were also detained director general of the advertisement association “AlVit”, head of the Brest economic police unit Alexander Kontsevich, first deputy head of the district administration of Gomel Vasily Kravchuk.

In late March 2002 the procuracy sanctioned the arrest of director and chief engineer of the Bobruisk tyre-repair factory. On March 2o the head of the district hall Vladimir Tkachev was arrested in Dzerjinsk. They hunted him down as if he were some dangerous criminal. Approximately at 7 in the morning a special “Almaz” group broke into his apartment and handcuffed the official, charged with power abuse.

In February 2002 procuracy instituted legal action against the director of one of the largest “BelarusBank’s” affiliates Larisa Balabanova. The woman is charged with supplying office furniture at too high cost when working as chief accountant in the bank’s regional department in 1996.
In January they opened lawsuit against the head of the Klimovichi district council Vladimir Konovalov.
In Gomel they instituted criminal proceedings against the director of the radio plant Anatoly Kirikov.

At Minsk Tractor Plant they initiated six criminal cases against the plant’s officials, not counting its director Mikhail Leonov.

Former director for foreign economic relations of “BelavtoMAZ” – deputy director of MAZ Alexander Yakovlev had to flee to Poland from the legal persecution, initiated by KGB. The Polish court declined to extradite Yakovlev to the Belarusian authorities. Now the investigation into his case had been suspended.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

There aren’t mentioned the facts of refusal to provide lawyers to the participants of the April 19 action, as well as the facts of violation of the procedural legislation in course of the trial over 5 Shklov activists from ZUBR Kiselev Mikhail, Senokosov Denis, Shalashkov Dmitry, Pavlovich Alexander, Potupchik Maksim (trials over them haven’t been mentioned anywhere at all). Accusatory verdict was passed by the Shklov district court on March 14, 2002.

In June there resumed trial over two police officials, charged with negligence, which caused the Nemiga stampede, claiming 53 dead. Minsk city court turned down the lawsuit, filed by three families, whose children were crushed to death in “Nemiga” metro underpass in 1999. Their relatives demanded to bring to accountability the municipal authorities, private firms and two law-enforcers.
Former chairman of the Supreme Soviet Stanislav Shushkevich, getting $1 pension, is denied by court a right to get a proper personal pension.
In Minsk the chairman of the city court protests the ruling of a lower instance court in favor of Nikolai Statkevich – to get monetary compensation for illicit 10-day arrest on July 27, 1999.

Belarusian Union of entrepreneurs is denied a right to open action against the organization’s office burglary.

Jury of the Gomel regional court sentenced to six years of hard-labor colony former deputy director of the Svetlogorsk association “Himvolokno” Valery Nadezhdin. The defendant was indicted over bribe-taking and theft.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press

In the year 2002 in Minsk and regional centers there were recorded 20 detentions for the passage of newspapers, 11 for gluing the stickers, 16 – for gluing the flyers and 7 – for graffiti. All of the detained were ZUBR activists.
In January there commenced trial proceedings against Alexander Scherbak, editor of the independent newspaper “Shklovskiye Naviny”. He is accused of exceeding the print run, established for an unregistered press outlet (299 copies).
In February Orsha court passed reprimand to the editor of the non-state newspaper “Kutseina” Viktor Andreev: four office PCs were left confiscated, while Andreev was fined 200thsd rubles.
In March they applied censorship and selective confiscation against art exhibition of the “Pagonya” association. They removed the works by painters Valery Schastny, Ales Pushkin, Ales Tsyrkunov and Aleksei Marochkin.
Upon the pretext of the structural reformation, the leadership of the Belarusian television dismissed 200 employees over a fortnight.
Literature magazines “Polymya”, “Maladost”, “Krynitsa”, “Neman”, weekly “Literatura i Mastatstva” as a result of reformation were united into a media holding in order to exert total pressure on the group of editions, uncontrolled by the authorities. The director of the holding initially was the deputy of the handpicked parliament Sergei Kostyan.
In May without a consent of the Union of writers of Belarus – official founder of the “Krynitsa” magazine, they appointed edition’s new editor. In protest against that, all the journal’s employees filed in resignations.
Most of the journalists of the “Neman” magazine left the periodical after they appointed as editor-in-chief Nina Chaika, notorious for her previous work at the Belarusian radio, where she was in charge of the programs, inciting social and national intolerance in the country.
Organizational and staff reshuffles in the Belarusian literature editions brought about to the total introduction of censorship in the literature and cultural journals. Six prepared issues of the “Maladost” journal won’t be published due to the censorship of the newly appointed leadership of the media holding.
The authorities compose a “black list” of writers, falling into disfavor, thus stripping them of the right to get published. The appointed editors-in-chief of editions, that are part of the state-controlled holding “Literature and Art”, were instructed to ban publications of the leading writers of the contemporary Belarusian literature – Vasil Bykov, Rygor Baradulin, Gennady Buravkin, Nil Gilevich, Sergei Zakkonikov and some other.
In Postavy and Braslav districts local authorities disrupted readers’ meetings with Gennady Buravkin. Famous poet had to communicate to his readers in the street, for the headmaster of the local school #1 of Postavy Pavel Trava categorically banned to hold the assembly at the school’s premises.
In June the judicial bodies sealed the property of the Union of Writers of Belarus.
Police beat in custody the journalist of the “Bobruisky courier” Gennady Bagdonas.
Unknown assailants beat up in Minsk “Radio Ratsya” correspondent Gennady Kesner.
“Brestsky courier” office came under attack.
In December they appointed former presidential security aid Oleg Proleskovsky director general of the Belarusian Telegraph Agency, responsible for controlling the outgoing information.
The publishing house declined to print the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets v Belarusi”, referring to the oral order from the Ministry of information.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
On April 19, 2002: 102 persons detained, 41 of them placed under arrest (See section 1.d of Amendment)

20 were apprehended in the aftermath of a massive rally on Freedom Day in Grodno. The following detainees received administrative punishments: Nikolai Lemyanovsky, Svetlana Neh, Viktor Sazanov – fine; Sergei Malchik, BPF, Vadim Saranchukov, YF, 10 days arrest.

c) other cases of detentions of ZUBR Movement’s activists (2-7 people):

2 people detained on November 8 for picketing in protest of the new religious law: Sergei Pezkin and Igor Zakrevsky. 8 people got captured on December 12 in Gomel for picketing with the portraits of Andrei Zaitsev. Dmitry Borodko was arrested on September 9 for running a picket, commemorating another anniversary of Lukashenko’s rule. 3 men got detained on August 19 for pro-independence picketing of the Russian embassy: Sergei Pezkin, Igor Zakrevsky and Ales Golub. All detainees were placed under arrest for 5-10 days. On August 20 in Minsk Evgeny Afnagel was sentenced to 10 days of arrest for a picket in support of independence.

On July 8 in Gomel they detained Yuri Kulikov for his picket “Chain of those who care”, staged in memory of the missing politicians. On July 3 in Borisov they arrested for picketing on the official Independence Day 2: Sergei Pezkin, Igor Zakrevsky. 2 persons were also detained in Borisov on July 1 for a Town Day picket: Sergei Pezkin and Igor Zakrevsky. On May 2 police captured 2 people: Igor Zakrevsky and Svetlana Danilova for picketing against the military maneuvers “Berezina”, run by Lukashenko.

d) facts of detentions at opposition rallies:

On July 29 police arrested for 10 days for organizing an entrepreneurial action of protest Leonid Malakhov (cochairman of the civil initiative “Private Property” and member of the political council of the United Civil Party).

On December 18 in Pinsk for a picket against combat actions in Chechnya they sentenced to 10 days of arrest two people: Igor Sarakovik and Leontiy Vabischevich. 5 representatives of the Conservative-Christian BPF party were arrested in Minsk on September 29 for rallying in defense of the Belarusian independence: Valery Buivol, Yuri Belenko, Vladimir Plotnikov, Zdislav Abremsky, Kastus Kashel. On September 8 in Minsk they arrested for 15 days Youth Front’s activist Dmitry Dashkevich for his picket against the Russian-Belarusian merger. On July 27 police apprehended 2 YF representatives Pavel Severinets and Dmitry Dashkevich for staging an action at the anniversary of the Declaration on state sovereignty. On April 26 in Mogilev two people were arrested: Yuri Vasilenko and Vladimir Biryukov for holding the rally “An Hour of Mourning”, commemorating Chernobyl tragedy. On March 15 in Minsk they arrested for 10 days BSDP (NG) leader Nikolai Statkevich for organizing a rally on the Day of Constitution. On February 13 in Vitebsk for a picket of protest against the nation’s impoverishment they detained 5: Valery Pavlotsky, Vladislav Tokarev, Leonid Pankratenko, Valery Vysotsky and Sergei Shapiro. On January 5 in Brest for the December 10 picket “Chain of those who care” they arrested and fined 10 individuals: Alzhbeta Karpouk, Mikhail Mikolayuk, Raisa Antanyuk, Polina Panasyuk (ZUBR), Mariya Klimovich, Sergei Kozlov, Vasily Barbolin, Sergei Aleksievich, Vladimir Malei (HR “Vesna”), Gennady Samoilenko (HR “Vesna”).
They also liquidated the Brest center of civil initiatives “Vezha”. The Ministry of justice issued reprimand to the “Narodnaya Gromada” for a stamp and letterheads, which are different from the sample. Pinsk authorities demanded for the implementation of a trade union action at the stadium, the payment of rent, which they usually require from the organizers of some competitions or concerts. Zhodino authorities forbade the local TBM affiliate to carry out sociological survey in educational institutions.

In October the chairman of the regional BHC affiliate Leonid Marhotko was fined $1380 for organizing the meeting of local activists with Anatoly Lebedko and Ludmila Gryaznova at the local Soligorsk stadium. The leading trade unionist Viktor Babaed was fined $180 for answering a few questions at the meeting, Pavel Severinets, YF leader, was fined $890 for picketing against the Belarusian-Russian integration. Court also fined $181 the activist of this organization Sergei Matskoit and arrested for 3 days the picketer Ilya Yadrentsev. Grodno trade union leader Valery Levonevsky was sentenced to15 days’ arrest for running an entrepreneurial protest in his hometown.

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change their Government

There aren’t mentioned the facts of dismissal from job and expulsion from studies of ZUBR Movement’s activists for political motives.
On December 25 in Borisov they fired from work Leonid Novitsky. On July 20 they reduced in position Andrei Poludo (from deputy head of economic police unit to an ordinary officer). On March 25 in Mogilev they expelled from technical school Alexander Kalita and Alexander Pavlovich.

Section 6. Worker Rights
The Right of Association
In the aftermath of the presidential elections 2001 the situation with the individual entrepreneurs seriously deteriorated. Prior to the presidential elections the authorities tried to persuade entrepreneurs to vote for the current regime, making an illusion of talks, bilateral dialogue and the improvement of business conditions. Decree #12 of 17.05.2001 “On the introduction of single tax for the individual entrepreneurs and other persons, selling commodity, works (services) and some issues, associated with the above-specified activities” – ahead of the presidential elections. (for individual entrepreneurs the reception of income is allowed in a voluntary form).

After the presidential elections the situation got changed. It became clear that they failed to pressurize businessmen into voting the way they wanted, and so their attitude to them changed for the worse. The last year cab by right be called a “year of war waged against small business”. The Cabinet of Ministers’ ruling #38 of 15.01.2002 (profits are accepted via cash desks – the list of trade objects and groups of goods are defined by the local executive committees).

Minsk city hall’s decision #184 of 19.02.2002 (defined the list of trade objects and time). Individual entrepreneurs’ appeal to the Constitutional court of 22.04.2002 (on checking the constitutional nature of the Cabinet’s ruling #38 of 15.01.2002). The Constitutional court passes decision on 29.05.2002 (the decree is violated, while the ruling and the decision must be out into conformity with the decree).

Lukashenko issues decree #376 of 15.07.2002: those individual entrepreneurs, who receive profits through cash machines, must open bank accounts for the purpose.
Executive committees and the Cabinet of Ministers overlook the decision of the Constitutional court, while the tax inspection embarks on massive check-up of individual entrepreneurs on whether they have cash desks and special bank accounts. As a result there are thousands of ruined entrepreneurs, thousands of recorded facts of repressions – fines, confiscations, bribe extortions, intimidations. Realizing that entrepreneurs are in no wise the electorate of the existing regime, the authorities are striving to annihilate them as a class.
At the moment there are over 200,000 individual entrepreneurs in Belarus. At present, there operate about 10 entrepreneurial organizations in the country, which are quite well-known here. Entrepreneurial trade unions are a unique phenomenon as far as the trade union was organized by the proprietors, rather than hired workers. This, in its turn, testifies to the disastrous economic situation in the country.

On September 4 there was held an entrepreneurial protest with a thousand Minsk businessmen assembling at the Oktybrskaya square of Minsk for a 1,5 hour sedentary strike. As a result, suffering no losses, the action won wide public resonance and had great result – the authorities on their own initiated a dialogue, after which on September 6 they opened round table in the format “government-entrepreneurs”. At the building, where it was hosted, there gathered 400 businessmen, who came to cheer up their colleagues at the talks. In course of three hours, during which the round table lasted, these people were standing and waiting for results.

Regardless of the moratorium, the tax bodies on the spot upon their own initiative started applying sanctions on the afore-mentioned conflict issues. Then it was determined to compose and pass a note of protest to the Minister for taxation in an active format, that is publicly. On September 25 around fifty entrepreneurs assembled at 9a.m. near the Ministry for taxation, read out the protest note and passed it over afterwards to the Minister’s reception. The Minister confirmed moratorium and pledged he would deliver this information to the knowledge of the leadership of the city tax inspection.

On October 1 there was organized a signature collection motion under demand to the Minsk mayor Pavlov. The main provisions of the demand were the following – to cancel Minsk city hall’s decision, violating the president’s decree and cease lawless discrimination of entrepreneurs. The action was held opposite the entrance to the Minsk city hall’s building at a time when the officials’ working day just started and all of them walked past the protesters. The action attracted over 200 entrepreneurs. The demand and signatures, collected under its text, were passed over to the city mayor’s reception office. The result of the implemented action was the meeting between entrepreneurs and the city leadership, urgently organized on October 3, a day after the action. At the meeting there was achieved an agreement on moratorium on the passage of any sanctions in relation to the entrepreneurs on conflict issues. It was also determined that in course of the moratorium’s two months’ duration the sides must find compromise on all disputed issues.
In course of these two months proposals on the solution of conflict problems were passed over to the Department of investments and entrepreneurship of the Belarusian Ministry of economy, Regrettably, the local authorities didn’t embark on a meaningful dialogue with entrepreneurs. None of their proposals had been accepted.
November 28 action was a logical response to ignoring of all businessmen’s attempts to find compromise a few days prior to the expiration of the moratorium’s duration.
Once again they formulated, though in a more strong-worded manner, all entrepreneurs’ demands and information that every concrete official, responsible for the passage of this or that decision, may suffer a lawful punishment under the Belarusian Penal code. There were also enumerated names of the four officials, who relate to the passage of concrete decisions and application of concrete measures towards the entrepreneurs. The action was carried out again in the morning, at the start of the office day opposite the Minsk city hall’s headquarters, attracting over 200 businessmen. Their claim was passed over to the Minsk city hall’s reception.

The follow-up of this action and the submitted demands was the nervous reaction of, first, mayor Pavlov and then the law-enforcement structures accordingly. As it turned out, the city mayor forwarded his appeal to the Minsk prosecutor with a request to bring to criminal accountability the organizers of the action, deeming that the demand contained threat against him. Around a fortnight ago a range of the law-enforcement structures were engaged in the question’s solution and, consequently, the cochairman of the “Private Property” Leonid Malakhov on December 26 was against his will delivered to the Minsk prosecutor where they warned him about criminal responsibility for the actions, which contain threats, according to the mayor. And so, following a four-hour long interrogation, the prosecutor officials passed a mutually acceptable measure – oral reprimand.

Nikitko Mikhail Alexandrovich, individual entrepreneur (IE), certificate #1044, identification number 190145689, Minsk, 01.08.2002 – summoned to court. Dozortseva Ludmila Vladimirovna, IE, cert.# 130114184, Minsk, 09.09.2002 summoned to the Pervomaisky district tax inspection. Raschinsky Alexander Petrovich, IE, cert.# 100938694, Minsk, 18.09.2002 – summoned to Zavodsky district tax inspection. Pavlova Natalya Viktorovna, IE, cert.# 100309850, Minsk, 16.09.2002, summoned to the Sovietsky district tax inspection. Shydlovskaya Natalya Alekseevna, shop assistant, Minsk, 17.09.2002 – summoned to court.

The comments are prepared on the basis of Charter-97 and Viasna Human Rights Centers’ monitoring and the UN Report on Human Rights Defenders from February 20, 2003.

Ludmila Gryaznova
Human Rights Coordinator
Charter’97