Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in March 2008

The 90th anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic and the traditional Freedom Day rally dedicated to it were the main events this March. The preparation to the Freedom Day started long before the holiday. As early as on 6 February the opposition addressed Minsk city executive committee requiring the official permission for the procession and meeting. The address was filed on behalf of the chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front Party Liavon Barshcheuski, the chairman of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka, the head of the For Freedom movement Aliaksandr Milinkevich and the chairman of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Narodnaya Hramada Mikalai Statkevich. The action participants intended to gather in Yakub Kolas Square near the Belarusian State Philharmonics and march along the Nezalezhnastsi Avenue to Valadarski Street and then continue the procession along the Haradzki Val, Maksim Bahdanovich and Yanka Kupala Streets, up to Yanka Kupala Square. The authorities kept to their usual position and proposed their own route – from the Academy of Sciences to Banhalor Square. The action organizers did not obey to this requirement of the authorities. 25 March Uadzimir Navumau, the minister of interior, stated that in the case the rally did not follow the officially proposed route, the police would interrupt the action with the use of physical force and riot gear.

On the eve of the Freedom Day the legendary Miron hung out five white-red-white flags in different districts of Vitsebsk. It was done within the frames of
this action White-red-white marathon, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Belarusian People’s Republic (BPR). Each flag was dedicated to a prominent BPR activist, which was stated in the notes that were affixed to the flags: the present chairman of the BPR Council Ivonka Survilla, the poetess Larysa Heniush, victim of Stalin’s repressions who till death considered herself a BPR citizen and refused to accept the Soviet citizenship, the BPR activist Paluta Badunova and the linguist Yazep Liosik, author of the Practical Grammar of the Belarusian language. A special flag was dedicated to the foreign Ambassadors who chose to take part in the nationwide dictation in Belarusian language, thus supporting the native language of Belarus, which is suppressed by the present rule. All in all, since the beginning of the year Miron has hung out 18 white-red-white flags. All of them stayed in their places for about an hour before the police noticed them. Then the flags were removed by workers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

25 to 30 March the public forum For Independence worked on the web. The forum topics included ‘State and political aspects of the Belarusian independence’, ‘Cultural and linguistic guarantees of the Belarusian national identity’ and ‘Economic fundamentals and perspectives of the independent Belarusian state’. The discussion was supported by well-known experts in political science, philosophy, law, art and economy, as well as by common people.

The 90th anniversary of the BPR was also celebrated by the international community. In particular, on 10-13 March a complex of events under the title The Belarusian Week was held within the frames of the European Parliament’s session in Strasburg. This project was initiated by the Polish deputy Jacko Protasevicz, head of the delegation on relations with Belarus. The Belarusian Week included meetings with prominent civil and political activists of Belarus, their press conference and discussion on the topic ‘Belarus – an inalienable part of Europe’. The Belarusian Week was organized by the largest fraction of the European Parliament – European People’s Party European Democrats.

As it was promised by the minister of interior, 25 March participants of the festive action in Minsk were attacked by riot police squads who used violence and riot gear against unarmed people. The riot squad made no difference between the old and the young, men and women. Dozens of marchers were beaten. About 100 persons were detained, including minors, journalists of Belarusian and foreign media and foreign citizens. On the eve of the 25 March action some civil and political activists in Minsk and other parts of Belarus were blocked and detained so that they would not participate in the rally.

26 March the trials over the detainees started. The marchers were charged with ‘violating the order of organizing and holding mass actions’. 26 persons were imprisoned, about 50 fined. Large European TV channels, radio stations and editions reported about the violent crackdown on the peaceful action in Minsk. The video shots of the police attack were broadcast even by the Russian edition of the Euronews TV channel.

Following the mass arrests the authorities started a total offence on independent mass media. On 27 March searches were conducted in the offices of many non-state media and in the private apartments of journalists all over Belarus. The official reason for the searches was the three-year-old criminal case that was brought on the fact of distribution of anti-presidential cartoons on the web. Among those who suffered from the searches there are Radio Racyja, the European Radio for Belarus, BelSat TV channel, etc. As a result of the searches computers and all information carriers were confiscated from the journalists. The investigators stated they would examine the confiscated items with the aim to find whether they had any relation to production of the abovementioned political cartoons.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists asked the international human rights and journalist organizations and the heads of the European institutions to demand that the Belarusian authorities stopped this unprecedented persecution of independent journalists. According to Zhana Litvina, the BAJ chairperson, this action was first of all aimed at putting barriers to information spread as well as at intimidating the journalists.

1. Politically motivated criminal cases

4 March Siarhei Parsiukevich, the leader of Vitsebsk entrepreneurs, was arrested in Minsk and placed to the pre-trial prison in Valadarski Street. 13 March he was given charges under article 364 of the Criminal Code – violence or threat of violence against a policeman. Bear in mind that on 21 January Parsiukevich was sentenced to 15 days of jail for participation in a peaceful protest action, held by entrepreneurs in Minsk. While serving the arrest term he was beating by a prison guard. In order to escape responsibility for excess of his duty powers, the policeman Alexander Dulub accused the entrepreneur in provoking a fight and declared himself the victim in this case. 31 January the prosecutor’s office brought the criminal case against the entrepreneur. At the end of March the case was passed to court.

14 March Maskouski district court of Minsk turned down the petition for change of the restraint to Parsiukevich. While in prison, Siarhei Parsiukevich did not receive the necessary medicines. As a result he has exacerbation of bronchial asthma. 13 more persons are kept in the same cell with him. Most of them smoke.

4 March the criminal case against Andrei Kim was passed to Tsentralny district court of Minsk. The trial was appointed on 1 April and will be led by the judge Alena Ilyina. Bear in mind that Kim, an activist of the underground organization Initiative, was detained 21 January in Minsk, during the dispersal of the peaceful protest action of entrepreneurs. At first he was sentenced to 10 days of jail. Having served the arrest term, he was not released. Instead, he was given charges under article 364 – violence or threat of violence against policeman. The maximum punishment on this article is six years of jail. Andrei was placed to the pre-trial prison in Valadarski Street. For participation in the protest action on 10 January he also received charges under article 342 part 1 within the frames of Article 342 of the Criminal Code – organizing and preparing the actions grossly violating the public order, or active participation in such actions.

13 March Yuliya Kazulina, Alexander Kazulin’s daughter, filed a petition for mitigation of punishment to her father. The petition was turned down with reference to violations of the prison regime made by Alexander Kazulin. In March the German office of the international human rights organization Amnesty International held an action of solidarity with Kazulin. The organization called all people concerned with the fate of Alexander Kazulin to transfer to the account of the Belarusian Embassy in Berlin or Bonn 1 cent with the note ‘Freedom to Kazulin’ on 25-28 March. Amnesty International also picketed the Belarusian Embassy in Berlin on 25 March.

26 March the judge of Leninski district court of Hrodna Dzmitry Kobrynets found 23-year-old Aliaksei Sarnou guilty under article 341 of the Criminal Code – anientisement, and fined him 1 225 000 rubles (about 575 US dollars). The criminal case against Sarnou was brought 17 December 2007, after he wrote ‘Return the social guarantees’ on the walls of several buildings and was detained by the policemen who found a can with paint in his bag.

27 March Tsentralny district court of Minsk received the criminal ‘case of 14’. This case was brought by the prosecutor’s office against 14 participants of the peaceful action of entrepreneurs that was held on 10 January. Alexander Baradzenka, Aliaksei Bondar, Ales Charnyshou, Maksim Dashuk, Andrei Kim, Anton Koipish, Mikhail Kryvau, Mikhail Pashkevich, Uladzimir Siarheyeu, Ales Straltsou, Mikhail Subach, Tatsiana Tsishkevich, Pavel Vinahradau and the minor Artsion Dubski are charged under Article 342, part 1 – organizing and preparing the actions grossly violating the public order, or active participation in such actions. The punishments range from a fine to three years of jail.

27 March Polatsk city court was to have started the legal proceedings in the case of the youth activist Katsiaryna Salauyova who in January 2008 had been expelled from the historical-philological faculty of Polatsk State University. At the end of February she was given official charges under Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code – activities on behalf of unregistered organization. The punishments on this article include a fine, up to six months of arrest and up to two years of jail. The trial was postponed to 8 April, as on 25 Katsiaryna was detained for participation in the Freedom Day action and sentenced to five days of arrest.

2. Tortures and other kinds of cruel and inhumane treatment

As a result of forced dispersal of the peaceful rally on Freedom Day more than 20 persons received different traumas. Two of them, Yaraslau Hryshchenia and Yury Karetnikau, were taken to hospital. Andrei Liankevich, photographer for the non-state newspaper Nasha Niva, was beaten while implementing his professional duties at the rally.

The international human rights organization Amnesty International adopted a statement concerning the events of 25 March in Minsk to condemn the excessive use of force against participants of the peaceful rally in honor of the 90th anniversary of the Belarusian People’s Republic and demand the immediate release of all those arrested for peaceful expression of their views.

3. Fines and arrests

23March about 50 persons gathered in the town park of Zhodzina near the monument Heroes Live Forever. They laid down flowers to the monument and fled white and red air balloons. The following day Zhodzina town court tried the administrative cases against the organizers of the action – Alexander Kamarouski, Pavel Krasouski, Yury Silkin and Yury Zhylka. All of them were found guilty of organizing an unauthorized action and sentenced to seven days of jail.

24 March in the evening the police illegally searched the art studio of Aliaksei Marachkin, head of the Pahonia artistic society, and confiscated from him posters, flags and banners that were prepared for the 25 March action. Marachkin and the youth activist Aliaksei Kashkarou, who was also present in the art studio during the search, were guarded to Tsentralny district police department of Minsk. There the violation reports under article 17.1 (petty hooliganism) were drawn on them, after which the detainees were taken to the remand prison in Akrestsin Street. The following day Kashkarou and Marachkin were sentenced to five days of jail, ostensibly for ‘dirty swearing in Tsentralny district police department of Minsk’.

26 March Maskouski, Partyzanski, Savetski and Zavadski district courts of Minsk tried the people who were detained at the rally. All in all, 75 administrative cases were considered. In 26 cases the defendants were imprisoned for 5-15 days. The cases against minors were sent to the administrative commissions of district executive committees.

25 March in Vitsebsk the police detained Ales Pazniak and Yan Taupyha, activists of the Conservative-Christian Party Belarusian People’s Front, Barys Khamaida, Antanina Pivanos and Alena Zaleskaya. Pazniak and Taupyha were sentenced to 8 days of arrest, Zaleskaya was fined 700 000 rubles (about 390 US dollars), Antanina Pivanos was fined 70 000 rubles (about 39 dollars) and the trial over Khamaida was postponed to 1 April.

25 March 14 persons were detained in Baranavichy while laying down flowers to the Cross of Sorrow. Two of them were minors and were soon released. Ales Shcharbakou, invalid since childhood, felt very bad at the police station and an ambulance had to be called for him. It arrived only an hour later. Shcharbakou was hospitalized. 26 March the detainees were fined sums varying from 175 000 to 525 000 rubles (82 – 246 dollars) under article 23.34 of the Administrative Code – violation of the order of organizing and holding mass actions.

4. Freedom of word and the right to distribute information

24 March Leninski district court of Minsk found the democratic activists Maryna Aliyeva and Alena Naporka guilty under Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code (violation of the order of organizing and holding mass actions) and fined them 350 000 rubles (about 164 US dollars) each. The women were detained 22 March for distributing the Volnaya Serabranka newspaper featuring information about the upcoming Freedom Day rally. Till trial they were kept in the remand prison in Akrestsin Street.

The non-state newspaper Novy Chas received two warnings from the Ministry of Information at once. Both of them were signed 25 March by the vice-minister of information Liliya Ananich. The chief editor of Novy Chas Aliaksei Karol thinks that the pretentions of the ministry are wire-drawn and intends to appeal against them in court.

27 March the Belarusian Association of Journalists addressed the prosecutor general Ryhor Vasilevich with the requirement to ‘take all lawful measures’ for stopping the mass searches in the offices of non-state mass media and private apartments of journalists. The text of the address mentions the searches which were conducted 27 March all over Belarus. BAJ especially emphasized the fact that computer supplies, audio and video equipment and printed materials were confiscated from the journalists’ apartments and some of them even received summons to KGB.

5. Freedom of conscience

6 March the court of Zhodzina tried the administrative case against Valiantsin Luhouski, pastor of the Church of Evangelic Christians St. Trinity Church. The pastor was fined 175 000 rules (82 US dollars) for ‘serving unauthorized mass’.

The Constitutional Court of Belarus refused to consider the proposals for amendment of the religious legislation of the country, though more than 50 000 citizens of Belarus signed for it. In the court answer it was stated that citizens had no right to introduce proposals to the Constitutional court, as it was the competence of the state organs, the parliament and the president. Siarhei Lukanin, coordinator of the campaign for protection of the freedom of conscience, says that the believers asked the Constitutional court to address the Chamber of Representatives of the parliament for amending the religious legislation, as the law allows the Constitutional court to consider each law on its own initiative. ‘Pitifully enough, we received a refusal. Moreover, I think that our appeal was ignored, as the answer was signed not even by a judge, but by a vice-secretary of the court,’ commented Lukanin.

24 March the prosecutor’s office of Minsk drew a violation report on the pastor of the New Life church Viachaslau Hancharenka for organizing the collection of signatures for amending the religious legislation. The report was passed to court.

6. Right to peaceful assembly

11-12 March Savetski district court of Minsk considered the claim of the Horremautador state enterprise to the organizers of the European March rally 14 October last year. Representatives of Horremautador accused the action organizers, Yauhen Afnahel, Viktar Ivashkevich, Zmitser Khvedaruk Anatol Liabedzka, Aliaksandr Milinkevich and Vintsuk Viachorka, that as a result of deviation from the action route that had been proposed by the authorities the action participants covered the streets of Minsk with litter. At first Horremautador stated that it had to spend 2 135 974 (about 1 000 US dollars) on cleaning the streets. However, at the trial it was found that several other state enterprises of Minsk also filed financial claims to the action organizers. For instance, the housing economy of Tsentralny district of Minsk demanded 673 870 rubles for damage to dwelling houses and yards, the housing economy of Savetski district – 951 088 rubles for damage to dwelling houses, facades and ad boards, the housing economy of Leninski district – 239 697 rubles for a damaged rain pipe on house #22 in Nezalezhnastsi Avenue (though no one knows when it was damaged), Minskzelianbud enterprise – 1 433 798 for material damages manifesting in a trampled lawn, a broken tree near the river of Svislach, broken bushes, etc. Thus, the total sum of financial claims increased to 10 million rubles (almost 5 000 dollars). ‘These suits again demonstrate the scornful attitude of the Belarusian citizens to the rights of the citizens and violate the international standards of human rights’, commented the human rights activist Valiantsin Stefanovich.

7. Activities of secret services

19 March a KGB agent paid a visit to the work of the mother of Ihar Mikhaileuski, chairman of Rechytsa branch of the BPF Youth. He threatened that Ihar would be fined or arrested unless he stopped his activities in BPF Youth. The KGB agent also informed the woman that her son had organized a public meeting with the former candidate for President Aliaksandr Milinkevich. In his speech the visitor paid a special attention to the upcoming 25 March rally and warned that it would be better for Ihar not to go to Minsk that day.

8. Firings for political reasons

The actress Hanna Salamianskaya has been fired from the Russian theater and Maryia Yurevich – from the theater of the Belarusian army. Both firings took place after the Free Theater’s London tour, in which the actresses took part. Besides, Maryia Yurevich worked on assignment after graduation from a high school. So, according to the Belarusian laws, now she will have to ‘return’ to the state the cost of education, as she failed to work on assignment for two years. The head of the Free Theater has already applied to the British actors, many of whom agreed to help in ‘buying out’ the actress.

9. National, racial and religious enmity

12 March unidentified vandals destroyed more than 30 crosses which had been installed on the territory of the 1st rate historical and cultural value, the place of mass fusillades of the victims of political repressions 1930-1940 in the Kurapaty forest, introduced in the register of historical and cultural values of Belarus. According to Anton Astapovich, chair of the public association Belarusian voluntary society for protection of monuments of history and culture, 27 March the association received a letter, dated 20 March and signed by Sviatlana Pastukhova, assistant prosecutor of Minsk district. By this letter the organization was informed that a criminal case under article 339, part 1 (hooliganism) was brought by Barauliany division of Minsk district police department for investigating into the act of vandalism. Astapovich emphasizes it is the first case when a criminal case is brought on act of vandalism, though Kurapaty regularly has regularly suffered from unknown vandals.