Belarus ex-prisoner of conscience announces presidential bid :: Charter'97 :: News

Andrey Klimaw, a former member of the 13th Supreme Soviet [parliament disbanded by the Belarusian president in 1996] and an outspoken critic of Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka`s regime, has announced his intention to run in Belarus`s next presidential election in 2006. On 21 February Mr Klimaw asked the [opposition] United Civic Party (UCP) Political Council to suspend his membership because the party refused to back his presidential bid, the politician told Belapan.

"I have begun work to set up my campaign headquarters and a public movement to support my nomination as a presidential candidate," Mr Klimaw said.

Born in Minsk in 1965, Mr Klimaw completed a firefighting school in Lviv, Ukraine, in 1986. He ran his own building company when he was elected to the Supreme Soviet in 1995.

In February 1998, he was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison two years later for alleged large-scale embezzlement and forgery. Domestic and international human rights groups viewed the sentence as politically motivated, linking it to Mr Klimaw`s active role in the Supreme Soviet`s impeachment motion against Mr Lukashenka.

Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience. Mr Klimaw was released from a Minsk prison on 25 March 2002 following a district court ruling commuting his prison sentence to "corrective labour".

In the election he may be running against the incumbent, who has repeatedly declared his intention to seek a third term in office despite the two-term constitutional limit.