April 6, 2001

Mr. Alexander Lukashenko
Republic of Belarus
VIA FAX 011-375-172-26-06-10

Dear Mr. Lukashenko,

The International League for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization devoted to protection of human rights, is writing to express our grave concern about the arrest of four young people in the youth movement Zubr [Bison]: Aleksey Shidlovsky, Timofey Dranchuk, Dmitry Drapochko, and Ales Apranich. The four youths were arrested at approximately 2:00 a.m. on April 5 and charged with writing graffiti -- "Where is Gonchar? Where is Zavadsky? Where is Zakharenko?" regarding the disappearance of prominent figures on the wall of a Minsk refrigerator factory at 65 Timiryazeva Street.

Police detained the four young men as they were walking along the fence, reportedly a temporary structure near the factory, and confiscated a can of spray-paint from one of them. Police handcuffed the youths, forced them down on the ground, and even sprayed their hands with the paint, then took them to the Tsentralny police station in Minsk. Alexey Shidlovsky, who has previously served jail time for political graffiti, and Timofey Dranchuk were reportedly beaten at the police station.

The detainees were not allowed to contact their relatives or lawyers within the period prescribed by law, and their families only learned of their detention on the afternoon of April 5. Their 72-hour arrest warrant was delivered several moments before their interrogation, 12 hours after their detention, not within the 3 hours mandated by law. The youths were forced to sign a police record without the time of detention, which was filled in later by police officers. Their lawyers were not allowed to see them until 4:00 p.m. on April 5, and then refused private meetings with the defendants and forced to accept police presence during their meetings. Investigator Valery Spravtsev summoned a state-appointed lawyer for one of the defendants, rather than wait for the defendant's own lawyer to appear, and allowed him to remain for the interrogation despite protest. Authorities have opened criminal cases against the youths under Art. 341 of the Criminal Code of Belarus, recently revised, which reportedly makes "defacement of buildings with cynical graffiti" [sic] a criminal offense punishable by three months in jail.

Due to these violations of due process, the four Zubr activists have refused to give testimony. Police turned away reporters who came to the police station as well as an official from the U.S. Embassy, and refused to provide any further information, and also refused to reply to an OSCE representative who called the station. All four arrested youths were moved to the temporary investigation cell at the Minsk City police department.

We call on the Belarusian government to release the youths immediately, since they have not committed a violent or serious crime, and because basic due process regulations have been violated. There is also insufficient evidence to charge them all, and the issue of defacement of a temporary structure appears to be negligible. Furthermore, we would urge you to review the harsh penalty provided for in the criminal code for such a minor offense, which is quite often dealt with in democratic nations through the assignment of community service rather than through incarceration.

Most importantly, we note that the international community has the same questions as these young people: Where is Zavadsky? Where are Gonchar and Krasovsky? Where is Zakharenko? Under the extreme circumstances of the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus, where public figures associated with the opposition have disappeared and opposition leaders such as Vintsuk Viachorka, Ales Bialetski, Yuri Belenky, Pavel Severinets and others engaged in peaceful assembly have been unlawfully jailed for 10-15 days, it is understandable that young people feel it is their civic duty to protest. Indeed, they have already performed a service to the community by raising these vital human rights issues publicly at considerable risk.

We urge that this offense be handled administratively and that the defendants be released from incarceration.

Sincerely,

Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
Executive Director

Cc: Amb.Kozak
FAX: 011-375-172-34-78-53

Cc: Amb. Hans-Georg Wieck
FAX: 011-375-172-72-34-98