First Action of Public Accuser’s Office

06.07.2004.

According to RFE/RL

On 5 July the Office of Public Accuser that is situated in the German city of Eslingen filed to Belarus 70 warnings about criminal responsibility for violations of the electoral legislation.
The office has three main fields of work – cases of the missing politicians, the constitutional overturn in November 1996 and violations of electoral legislation.

The letters were sent to different officials – from the head of the Central Electoral Commission to heads of executive committees. All of them stand in the list of the most active infringers of the electoral legislation during the Parliamentary and Presidential elections of 2000 and 2001 that was prepared by independent public observers.

The head of the Office of Public Accuser Liudmila Karpenka reminds that Belarusian legislation (Article 192 of the Criminal Code) provides criminal punishment for forging of documents, violation of the secret of voting, incorrect calculation of votes and other violations.

-- I have received the lists of those who have violated the electoral legislation of the last years. Belarusian Helsinki Committee has already attempted to draw them to criminal responsibility. However, neither courts nor prosecutor’s offices reacted to these evident violations. Now I file warnings to them. They must know what they can expect for law violations.”