Review –Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in January 2007 :: Charter'97 :: News

The election to local deputy soviets that took place in Belarus on 14 January didn’t become an important political event in the country’s life. First of all, it was determined by the wish of the authorities to depoliticize the Belarusian society, which is implied by the date (14 January is the day of Old New Year, as celebrated by Orthodox Christians before adoption of Gregorian calendar). The election campaign was held while Belarusians were preparing to celebration Catholic and Orthodox Christmas and New Year. Secondly, on New Year eve the public attention was focused on the gas conflict between Russian and Belarus. Complete obliteration of the election by state press and electronic media, absence of political debates and discussions of the candidates’ election programs also manifest the reluctance of the authorities to engage ordinary citizens in the election process.

On 31 January the Belarusian Association of Journalists presented the results of the media monitoring Local Election 2007 in Belarusian Mass Media. The project coordinator Ales Antsipenka stated that the state mass media of national and regional level failed to present the election as an important political event. Non-state press couldn’t compensate the lack of objective information, even though it gave more detailed information. As a result the majority of the electors didn’t familiarize with the candidates running at their constituencies and their election programs. Printing houses refused to print agitation materials for democratic candidates or detained the already printed ones because of alleged violation of the election laws. The police detained the vehicles that transported such production, confiscated it and fined the carriers. Local administrations refused to authorize election meetings or transferred them to desolate places. In a number of cases state radio stations didn’t broadcast speeches of democratic candidates for ‘technical reasons’. On the eve of the election a number of opposition’s candidates and their proxies were arrested. KGB exercised pressure on democratic youth and tried to recruit some of the activists. During the last days of the early voting the authorities actively used the administrative resource.

On 12-13 January the high schools of Belarus received an order to make 100% of their students vote early. Besides, the voting took place in absence of independent and international observers. Having summed up the results of the election campaign the chair of the Central Election Commission Lidziia Iarmoshyna stated that the election was successful and its results reflected the people’s will. At the same time, representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces state this campaign is unprecedented in the number of law violations committed by the authorities. ‘We haven’t had such a campaign during the whole time of Lukashenka’s presidency’, commented the chair of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka. The bolting started at the state of registration of candidates. Only several democratic activists reached the finish of the election race. For instance among 23 000 of elected deputies there are 3 candidates from the Belarusian People’s Front Party, 2 – from the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada), 7 persons from the Party of Communists of Belarus. In the official note distributed by the press-service of the Foreign Ministry of Germany it is stated that the local election in Belarus didn’t meet the democratic standards. ‘Pitifully enough, the Belarusian authorities again demonstrated their reluctance to create fundamental preconditions for realization of the free will of the electorate… The election took place with a considerable suppression of the rights of opposition and the civil rights to opinion, association and assembly.’ The secretary of the Central Election Commission Mikalai Lazavik answered that such opinion of the European structures is groundless as the EU representatives grounded their conclusions on rumors and information received from the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, not on results of their own monitoring.

On 13 January George Bush signed Act about support of democracy and human rights in Belarus which provides support to any activity aimed at establishment of democracy in the country, including support of NGOs, youth movement, independent trade unions and democratic parties in 2007-2008.

On 21 January in Belarus a law On counteracting extremism came in force. It was adopted by the Soviet of the Republic on 20 December 2006 with almost no discussion. This law was twice considered by the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus: on 11 September 2006 it was adopted by the Chamber of Representatives and on 20 September – declined by the Soviet of Republic as many of its provisions needed amendment. Nevertheless, on 14 December the Chamber of Representatives again approved the law in the same edition and on 20 December, at a sitting of the Soviet of the Republic Mikalai Charhinets, the chair of the commission on international affairs and national security, informed his colleagues that Aliaksandr Lukashenka ordered both of the chambers to adopt the law by 1 January 2007. As a result the draft law was supported unanimously. The KGB chair Stsiapan Sukharenka, who was also present at the sitting, called the law ‘extremely necessary’, especially on the eve of the events that are allegedly prepared by the opponents of the authorities. For instance, he stated that starting from the local election the opposition plans termless actions of public disobedience with the aim to change the present political regime. However, during this election campaign the law didn’t act and came in force later. The new law contains an extended notion of ‘extremism’, which is now understood not only as activities of political, public and religious organizations aimed at forcible change of the political regime, territorial unity of the Republic of Belarus, seizure of state power in a non-constitutional way, creation of illegal armed brigades and organization of terrorist acts, but also as humiliation of national honor and dignity, fomenting of racial, national and religious enmity and hindrance to legal activity of state organs including the Central Election Commission. Democratic activists consider this law as expansion of the legal basis for struggle with political opponents and believe the authorities will purposively label as extremist the political parties, public organizations and initiatives that try to change the situation in Belarus in a non-violent way. ‘Even invitation of people to a meeting can be considered as extremism. Most probably, the law was adopted for punishment of the people whom the authorities consider as targets’, commented a former political prisoner Tsimafei Dranchuk (who in 2006 was accused of something like preparation of coup d’etat, but sentenced to 1 year of jail for activity on behalf of unregistered organization).

1. Electoral rights

Mahiliou city executive committee (CEC) didn’t let the leaders of Mahiliou regional organization of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada) Siarhei Famin and Iury Novikau hold a meeting and a picket appointed on 6 and 12 January. The main aim of these measures was to draw the electors’ attention to national and local problems. In an answer, signed by a deputy chair of Mahiliou CEC Fiodar Mikheienka it was stated that the applicants needed to review the aims of the picket and the meeting to make them comply with the electoral topics. On 3 January the speech of a candidate to Biaroza town deputy soviet, member of the BPF Party Anatol Sakharusha, wasn’t broadcasted by the local radio station, because of alleged technical problems which, strangely enough, didn’t affect other speeches. At night of 5 January in the Shabany suburb of Minsk the police detained Siarhei Karpovich and his proxies who carried in Karpovich’s car officially printed agitation production of four candidates from the BPF Party. The police arrested the load because of alleged suspicions in validity of the waybill. As a result the leader of the part, Vintsuk Viachorka (one of the candidates whose production was confiscated) complained to the prosecutor’s office, but the police promised to return the agitation materials only after the end of the election, on 15 January.

2. Harassment of human rights activists

The main economic office of the presidential administration (MEOPA) informed the Republican public association Belarusian Helsinki Committee about breach of the agreement on office rent and ordered the organization to leave the office by 20 January. Despite the fact that this and other buildings owned by the MEOPA the BHC efforts to save its office and legal address were fruitless.

On 29 January BHC had to leave the office. As a result of the international support from the EU countries and the US and international human rights organizations who urged the Belarusian authorities to stop pressurizing BHC on 31 January MEOPA prolonged the rent agreement for one year.

3. Violations of prisoners’ rights

The youth leader Artur Finkevich who spends his term of personal restraint at corrective labor facility #43 of Mahiliou, distributed a statement that the administration of the facility pressurizes him all the time. For instance, on 10 January for being 13 minutes late (he was given 2 hours to get to Mahiliou and take a shower) he received the second warning. Three warning give to the administration of this penitentiary institution a possibility to consider Finkevich’s actions as ‘evasion from punishment’ and transfer him to a prison. In his statement Artur Finkevich demands the warning be abolished and the biased attitude to him be stopped. On 25 January a leader of the Young Front Dzmitry Dashkevich had the first meeting with his parents. At first the administration of Shklou prison prohibited the meeting referring to his official reprimands, but then allowed. Mr. Dashkevich was warned that the meeting would finish in the case he spoke Belarusian. Nevertheless, he spoke Belarusian. During the talk the parents said they received only 2 letters out of 9 he sent to them. As a result they composed a complaint against it. The parents also found that the son received the first reprimand for having a T-shirt under his prison uniform and the second – for taking several steps away from a prison brigade without permission.

4. Politically motivated criminal cases

Kanstantsin Lukashou is still illegally detained in an investigative isolator. He was detained on 19 December on suspicion in resistance to the police on 29 March 2006, when he took his brother Viachaslau Siuchyk away from the surgical department of Minsk hospital #3. That day the police tried to detain Siuchyk on leaving the hospital, but thanks to the brothers aid he managed to escape. A scientist of the Institute of geochemistry and geophysics Kanstantsin Lukashou was detained right at his working place for alleged evasion from interrogations, though he didn’t received any summons. Lukashou received charges only on the 15th day of his detention, the legal term being 10 days. On 17 January Belarusian intellectuals signed a note with the demand to stop the politically motivated criminal case against Mr. Lukashou and release him. On 10 January the political prisoner Ivan Kruk was released from jail. He was to have been released at 10 a.m. His friends, journalists, activists of the UCP and Aliaksandr Milinkevich came to Hlybokaie jail to meet him. Howevr, two hours earlier the prison guards drove Mr. Kruk 50 kilometers away from the jail and left him there. He had to get home on his own.

5. Tortures

In the evening of 10 January in Orsha the police detained a youth activist Siarhei Huminski on suspicion in having made political graffiti at night of 23-24 December 2006. During an interrogation at Orsha city police department the policemen beat him and demanded that he spoke Russian and took the blame. The activist continued speaking Belarusian, demanded a lawyer and interpreter and received more beating. From the police department the activist went to a local hospital and got the beating registered. Then he complained about the torture to the prosecutor and to the minister of interior. On 12 January the activist was detained again and charged with violation of articles 156 and 166 of the Administrative Code (petty hooliganism and disobedience to legal demands of the police). For this he was sentenced to 3 days of jail. In addition, on 22 January Siarhei Huminski was handed a ruling that he was suspected in violation of article 341 of the Criminal Code ‘Defilement of buildings and anientisement’. Three days later the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. On 15 January a coordinator of the youth wing of the Belarusian People’s Front Party Ales Kalita was arrested for 7 days. In the evening of 12 January he came to the Bar of Savetski borough of Minsk in order to conclude an agreement for legal aid to a detained youth activist Anastasiia Aleksandrovich. When he got out of a taxi four unknown persons in plain clothes got out of a car and started beating him. Then they pulled him into a police car and continued beating him with a truncheon till he lost his senses. First he was driven to Minsk Savetski borough police department and then – to Minsk hospital #9, where medics registered the beating. In their conclusion they mentioned numerous bruises on the soft tissues of the head, chest and shank. The police accused Mr. Kalita of petty hooliganism (article 156 of the Administrative Code).

6. Harassment of political leaders

On 24 January a deputy chair of the United Civil Party Ihar Shynkaryk couldn’t leave for Lithuania: the department on citizenship and migration of Minsk Partyzanski borough police department informed him that his passport was at KGB. Mr. Shynkaryk passed the passport to the department on citizenship and migration to receive a permissive seal for going abroad. He intended to come to Vilnius for participation in a meeting of representatives of democratic forces of Belarus.

7. Activation of secret services

Iana Karpovich, a student of the management faculty of the Belarusian State Economic University, complained to the Prosecutor General of Belarus about the actions of the KGB workers who interrogated her at the dean’s office. They threatened the activist with criminal punishment for activity on behalf of unregistered radical organization and expulsion from the university, psychologically pressurized her and demanded cooperation with the KGB. In her complaint Iana Karpovich asked for prosecutorial check-up of these facts and criminal punishment of the KGB workers who violated her legal rights. KGB workers interrogated an activist of the BPF Youth, student of the historical faculty of the Belarusian State University Andrei Ihnatovich. They applied to the dean’s office and asked to call him there for a talk. The talk took place in their car. The KGB workers asked the student to bring them a complete list of members of the BPF Youth and inform them about the plans of the organization’s activity and promised he would get good marks at exams for it. The activist politely refused. At parting the KGB workers insistently proposed to him to think it over once again and contact them would he change his mind.

8. Administrative punishment of public and political activists

In the evening of 11 January in Pinsk on the way home the police detained Aliaksandr Ramanovich, a member of the BPF Party and a candidate to Brest regional deputy soviet. The accused him of swearing and took to a police station. On 12 January the politician was tried and sentenced to 5 days of jail for violation of article 156 of the Administrative Code (petty hooliganism). At 5 p.m. on 12 January the candidate was to have come to an electoral meeting where his proxy Aliaksandr Milinkevich was to have taken part. On 13 January the police detained a regional youth leader from Barysau Mikhail Kandrashou. The policemen familiarized him with materials related to a check-up of the activity of members of the unregistered movement For Freedom! and asked the prosecutor’s office to bring a criminal case under article 368 of the Criminal Code (insult of president) against him. Right from the police department the police took him to a prosecutor’s office, though it was a day-off. There Mr. Kandrashou was handed a refusal to bring a criminal case and a ruling to bring an administrative case under article 167-10 of the Administrative Code for activity on behalf of unregistered organization. Then Mr. Kandrashou was taken to a court where the judge Iu.Kobets tried him without listening to any witnesses and ruled to fine 310 000 rubles (about 150 US dollars). On 25 January Minsk Kastrychnitski borough court fined Aliaksandr Milinkevich 4 650 000 Belarusian rubles (about 2 200 US dollars) for ‘purposeful illegal crossing of the border’. The trial took place in absentia, as the politician was away in Lithuania. On 26 November the former candidate to presidential position went to Riga. During the passport control at Minsk-2 airport the border guards put a seal in his son’s passport instead of his own. They noticed it when he returned to Minsk and accused of purposeful crossing of the border with his son’s passport. Together with the court decision Aliaksandr Milinkevich received a letter informing that in the case he didn’t pay the fine by 10 February he would be prohibited to travel abroad.

9. Entrance bans to representatives of international community

On 26 January the deputy speaker of the Polish Senate Krzystof Putra wasn’t let in Belarus without any explanations. The official intended to visit Hrodna and meet with activists of the Union of Poles in Belarus that is not recognized by the Belarusian authorities.

10. Speech liberty and right to distribute information

On 14 January Nina Shubina, the chair of polling station commission #52 of Pershamaiski borough of Vitsebsk, handed to a journalist and human rights activist Valery Shchukin a note that his stay at the polling station was limited to 1 hour by vote of the members of the polling station commission. An hour later the correspondent of Narodnaia volia was led out of the polling station by the police. However, he stood outside till the end of the voting and collected information about his article about the election.

11. Politically motivated dismissals

A talented actor of the highest category and producer Pavel Kharlanchuk was fired from M.Gorky National academic theater ‘because of incompatibility with the occupied position’. For his participation in a peaceful protest action against the rigged presidential election in spring 2006 Mr. Kharlanchuk was deprived of any roles in plays since 20 September. The theater administration insistently advised him to resign ‘on his own will’, but he didn’t agree. Then the attestation commission stated that he had violated the moral fundamentals of the theater and proposed to confess him professionally unfit. In Mahiliou 18-year-old student Ihar Lustsiankou was expelled from the first year of physical-mathematical faculty of Mahiliou State University for his public and political activity.

12. Manifestations of racial, national and religious enmity

At night of 23 January unknown persons defiled the Embassy of Latvia in Belarus by throwing two bottles with black paint into its faзade. They also scattered leaflets with national-Bolshevik symbols nearby. The actions of the offenders were aimed against the General consulate of Estonia that shared the building with the Embassy of Latvia by 1 January, but then moved to another location. The Embassy of Latvia has already passed an official note concerning the act of vandalism to the Foreign Ministry of Belarus. On 6 January during the funeral of a member of the local Moslem community at a graveyard 5 kilometers away from Slonim it was found that vandals desecrated six graves of Moslem soldiers of the Russian Empire who had perished in 1915, during World War I. On 12 January the local prosecutor’s office brought a case under part 1 of article 339 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism) on this fact. On 30 January in Kurapaty wood near Minsk, place of mass fusillades of victims of Stalin’s repressions, people lit memorial candles. Belarusians supported the proposal of Russian human rights activists to commemorate innocent victims on the 30th day of each month. Those who came to the wood saw that unknown vandals for the 11th time defiled ‘Clinton’s bench’, a memorial sign who was put there by the American president in 1994. This time the offenders stole 1/3 of the memorial board made of granite, that’s why the monument can hardly be restored. The previous act of vandalism was committed 2 months ago, but the vandals weren’t found.