Andrei Klimau Is Deprived of Legal Aid and Threatened with 2-5 Years of Jail

03.04.2007.

In the morning of 3 April the political activist Andrei Klimau was arrested in Minsk. The police brought him to the public prosecutor’s office in Minsk. He is charged with violation of Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (call for armed overthrow of the state system). Andrei Klimau is charged with violation of part 3 of the article: ‘Public appeals to seize the state power, or forcible overthrow of the constitutional order of the Republic of Belarus, its sovereignty, territorial integrity, national security and defensive ability; or dissemination of materials which contain such appeals with the help of mass media’. He has been denied a duty attorney. Human Rights Center Viasna found out that after being presented a charge under Article 361 part 1 of the Criminal Code of Belarus he was taken to a remand prison in Valadarski Street in Minsk.

The criminal case was brought for Klimau’s publication under the title Revolution forever or How to slice the Gipsy hog in the year of swine located at the Internet site of the United Civil Party. In this article Andrei Klimau writes about Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s involvement in kidnapping and killing of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition. However, the Internet site is not a mass medium. The authorities have been trying for a long time to equate sites with mass media but until now it has not been legalized.

Statements of Article 361are given underneath:

Article 361 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus Calls for actions causing damage to the external security of the Republic of Belarus, to its sovereignty, territorial inviolability, national security and defensiveness.

1. Public calls for seizure of the state power, forced changing of the constitutional system of the Republic of Belarus or for state treason or for terrorist actions or diversion or for conducting other actions causing damage to the external security of the Republic of Belarus, to its sovereignty, territorial inviolability, national security and defensiveness or distribution of materials containing such calls are penalized by arrest for the term of six months or by the term up to 3 years in prison.

2. Calls to the foreign state, foreign or international organization to actions causing damage to the external security of the Republic of Belarus, its sovereignty, territorial inviolability, national security and defensiveness or distribution of materials containing such calls are punished by arrest for the term of six months of by up to 3 years in prison.

3. Actions stipulated by parts 1 and 2 of this article with employment of mass media are penalized by 2-5 years in prison.