General Prosecutor supports Liabedzka's travel ban

10.04.2008. Tags: Liabedzka.
Source: Charter`97.

The General Prosecutor’s Office has stated that the grounds for the ban for leaving Belarus on the leader of the United Civil party Anatol Lyabedzka was the criminal case initiated against him.

Such an answer has been received by the UCP leader to his address concerning putting him on the list of persons restricted to travel abroad.

The head of the department on supervision over respect to citizens’ rights and freedoms Ryhor Shostak referred to the law “On order of leaving the Republic of Belarus and entering the Republic of Belarus by Belarusian citizens”. He doesn’t see any political grounds in the ban for leaving the country for the oppositional leader, the internet resource www.ucpb.org informs.

The representative of the General Prosecutor’s Office quoted Article 12 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It enumerates restrictions on free ingress and egress from the country for citizens. These measures are caused by reasons of national security, public order, health protection or morality of the population, or rights and freedoms of other persons. “Analogous provisions of the International Covenant are stated in Article 23 of the Constitution of Belarus,” the answer of the General Prosecutor’s Office reads.

“In my address to the General Prosecutor’s Office I actually tried to find out, what my actions or words infringe the security of the country or public order,” Anatol Lyabedzka said. “Instead of answers I receive a formal reply referring to the law “On entry and leaving of citizens”, which contradicts both the Constitution of Belarus and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” the politician believes.

As said by him, one of specialization of the vertical of prosecutor’s power is backing of those who are at the top of power. “As soon as the question concerns observation of a law in relation to an opponent of the regime, prosecutors immediately wash hands of that. The General Prosecutor’s Office is not ruled by the Constitution, but a political expedience and special orders from the Red House [Presidential administration],” the UCP leader believes.

As we have informed, the criminal case against Anatol Lyabedzka was brought up in 2004 on initiative of the General Prosecutor’s Office on charges relating Article 367 Part 2 of the Criminal Code (slander against the president of Belarus) after his interview to the program “Zerkalo” (a TV channel “Rossiya”) and an article in the newspaper “Narodnaya Volya” on issues of “shadow budget” and armaments trade.