To: Alexander Lukashenko
Republic of Belarus
FAX: 011 375 172 26 06 10

Cc: Anatoly Dudkin
Prosecutor of the Mogilev region
FAX: 011 375 222 257 355

Svyataslav Kurel
Director of Internal Affairs, Mogilev branch
FAX: 011 375 222 395 101

January 18, 2001

Dear Mr. Lukashenko,

The International League for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization with consultative status at the United Nations, is concerned about the criminal case against Dmitry Obodovsky, the son of Sergei Obodovsky, an opposition activist. Dmitry has been held in detention for the past year and a half. Dmitry was arrested on July 20, 1999, and has been held in pre-trial detention since then. He was initially charged with rape and then later with two cases of theft, all charges which he denies.

Although Dmitry was acquitted of one theft, he was sentenced to six years in prison for allegedly stealing a pair of shoes. At the present moment, the case has been forwarded for re-examination. The judge has repeatedly denied the defense's request that Dmitry be released during his trials. The latest refusal to release Dmitry came from Ivan Gorodkov, who is the chief investigator in Dmitry's case, despite the new Penal Code, which came into force on January 1, 2001, and which prohibits keeping the suspect in pre-trial detention for a period longer than 18 months.

The League fears that the charges against Dmitry Obodovsky may be in retaliation for the opposition activities of his father, Sergei Obodovsky, the director of the Mogilev Human Rights Center and a lawyer at the Mogilev branch of the Free Trade Union. Dmitry was arrested just after Sergei was elected to the opposition electoral commission of the opposition-organized presidential elections in the spring of 1999. Sergei's other two sons have also faced harassment in the past two years. One was forced to seek political asylum in Poland, while the other, a student at the Mogilev State University, has faced charges of computer hacking (komputernoe khuliganstvo).

The League urges you to immediately cease harassment of Sergei Obodovsky and his family for his opposition and trade union activities. More specifically, the League calls on you to release Dmitry from detention during the ongoing investigation, ensure that he has access to lawyers of his choosing and that any future trial proceeds in an open and fair manner.

Thank you for your attention. We await your response.

Sincerely,

Catherine Fitzpatrick
Executive Director