INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

BELARUS UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 4, No. 6
February 2001

IN THIS ISSUE:

- Supreme Soviet Deputy released from jail
- U.S. welcomes release of Belarusian lawmaker
- Amnesty at full force in Belarus
- Human rights lawyer severely beaten
- Victims of police brutality sue abusers
- Borisov activists campaign for civil disobedience
- Opposition youth organization vs. Ministry of Justice
- Independent newspapers reprimanded
- Two activists detained in Minsk
- Trade unions, human rights NGO demand freedom of assembly
- OSCE to press on for fair election in Belarus
- Local businessmen go on strike
- British authorities refuse to extradite former Belarusian banker
- Lukashenko appoints new security officials
- Who will get Moscow's support in Belarusian election?

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS-

SUPREME SOVIET DEPUTY RELEASED FROM JAIL

On February 5, Vladimir Koudinov, deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet and member of the United Civic Party, was released from a hard-labor colony after the Borisov (Minsk Region) City Court shortened his sentence under the guidelines set forth in the new Penal Code, reported Belapan. The deputy was arrested on February 4, 1997, on corruption-related charges widely believed to be politically motivated. He was sentenced on August 4, 1997, to seven years of hard labor. Thanks to the amnesty, his prison term was shortened to five years. Koudinov was one of the members of parliament who called for an impeachment of Lukashenko after the unlawful 1996 constitutional referendum.

Upon his release, the deputy thanked everyone who offered moral support to him and his family during his four-year long ordeal and confirmed his readiness to continue his struggle for a democratic Belarus. He told reporters about the appalling conditions in UZ-15/1 hard-labor colony, where inmates are ill-treated by guards, are poorly fed, do not receive adequate medical care, and are housed in overcrowded, poorly heated and ventilated cells. "The authorities try to crush your spirit by placing you in the cold punishment cell, with the temperature is close to a freezing point," the deputy said. He called on the Belarusian public and the international community to intensify support of Andrei Klimov, another 13th Supreme Soviet deputy, who was accused of an alleged financial malfeasance and sentenced to six years in prison after a controversial eight-month politically motivated trial. Klimov also was among the members of the 13th Supreme Soviet who did not recognize the results of the November 1996 referendum and still consider the 13th Supreme Soviet the only legitimate parliament in Belarus. He repeatedly used strong-worded statements to criticize the Belarusian authoritarian ruler and signed an impeachment motion against him. After Lukashenko disbanded the 13th Supreme Soviet, Klimov continued his political activities throughout 1997. Shortly before his arrest, he drew up a report recording violations of laws and the Constitution by the Belarusian president. (Belapan, February 5)

U.S. WELCOMES RELEASE OF BELARUSIAN PARLIAMENTARIAN

On February 6, the U.S. Department of State welcomed the release from prison of Vladimir Koudinov. "We encourage the Belarusian authorities to take further action to meet OSCE's conditions for democratic elections and Belarus's OSCE human rights commitments," said Richard Boucher, State Department Spokesman in a statement. "Such action should include accounting for the disappeared, respect for freedom of expression and assembly, and the release of other political prisoners." (USIA, February 6)

RELEASE OF CONVICTS BEGINS IN BELARUS

About 30,000 cases will be returned to court for review in accordance with the new Belarusian Penal Code, Sergei Kadushkin, head of the Committee on Penalty Implementation of the Belarusian Interior Ministry, told journalists in Minsk. In January, 2001, more than 3,000 inmates had their prison terms shortened and 395 inmates were set free, reported Itar-Tass. Under the Lukashenko regime, Belarus became one of the countries with the highest prison populations in the world relative to the general population. Local human rights NGOs report numerous instances of police abuse of prisoners, including beatings, psychological duress, and denial of medical care. Detainees are treated with cruelty and humiliation. Lengthy investigations are a common form of punishment. In all types of cases, illegal methods of investigation are used in order to obtain confessions. (Itar-Tass, February 4)

HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER SEVERELY BEATEN

On January 31, Oleg Sluchak, a lawyer for the Public Legal Assistance Association, was attacked by three youths near his home on Leshchinsky Street in Minsk, reported Nasha Svaboda, an independent newspaper. As a result of the assault, Sluchack suffered a concussion and bruises. The Frunzensky Internal Affairs Directorate (police precinct) refused to take his case for investigation, citing lack of evidence of the attack. The Public Legal Assistance Association issued a statement protesting the decision and demanding an inquiry into the beating of its employee. (Nasha Svaboda, February 5)

VICTIMS OF POLICE BRUTALITY SUE ABUSERS

On February 6, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Gomel began consideration of the torture complaint filed by three city residents against five policemen of the Tsentralny Internal Affairs Directorate of Gomel. On March 31, 2000, Dmitry K. and his two friends were detained near the apartment building where they live, pushed into a police car, and on the way to the Tsentralny Internal Affairs Directorate were forced to confess to a burglary of a nearby apartment building. At the police station, the detainees were brutally mistreated for about an hour. The policemen hit them in the face with truncheons, forced them on to the floor, kicked, and punched them. After the beating, the law-enforcers filed a report charging the youths with "malicious hooliganism" and sent the case to Tsentralny District Court of Gomel. The court fined Dmitry K. two minimum wages, and sentenced his friends to seven days of imprisonment each. After serving their terms, the victims obtained a referral for a medical examination, which documented numerous wounds and bruises on their bodies. The Office of the Gomel Region Prosecutor launched a criminal investigation into the case, charging the policemen with forgery, exceeding their authority, and physical abuse. (Nasha Svaboda, February 7)

BORISOV ACTIVISTS CONTINUE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE CAMPAIGN

On February 5, Alexander Abramovich and Nadezhda Grechukha, both members of the Borisov branch of Narodnaya Hramada, or Belarusian Social Democrat Party (BSDP), were summoned for interrogation to the local prosecutor's office in connection with an unauthorized picket, staged by the BSDP members on January 16 in downtown Borisov, a town in Minsk Region, reported Nasha Svaboda. The activists refused to answer the prosecutor's questions because in July 1999, their party had decided to launch a campaign of civil disobedience. After the activists tore up a summon to appear to the office again, law-enforcement agents threatened that they would be dragged by force to interrogations.

On January 16, following press reports of a Belarusian psychiatrist who questioned Lukashenko's mental stability, the picketers demanded that Lukashenko under a psychiatric examination. They passed out leaflets containing excerpts from a medical paper prepared by Dr. Dmitry Schigelsky and released after he left Belarus, published in the January 12 issue of Nasha Svaboda. Dr. Schigelsky claimed that the Belarusian dictator suffers from a serious mental disorder and presents a danger to society. After about 15 minutes, the picket was dispersed by the police. Abramovich, Grechukha, Alesia Yasyuk, another BSDP activist, Dmitry and Mikhail Kuznetsov, both members of the local branch of the Malady (Youth) Front, and Dmitry Borodko, chair of the local branch of Viasna Human Rights Center, who observed the action, were arrested and brought to the nearest police station. At the station, Borodko was released, while others were charged with the violation of Art. 167, par. 1 and par. 2 (organization and participation in mass actions violating public order). After filing reports on the activists, police officers took Abramovich, Yasyuk, and Grechukha to court for arraignment, where judge Alexsey Bolotov ruled that the picketers had violated Art. 368 of the Belarusian Criminal Code ("defamation of the president") and sent the cases to the local prosecutor.

On February 6, parents of the Kuznetsov brothers were fined two minimum wages (about $6) for the violation of Art. 162 (failure to provide an appropriate childcare) of the Belarusian Code of Administrative Offences and Art. 17 of the Juvenile Code (juvenile delinquency). On February 7, Abramovich was summoned to the prosecutor's office again, but the investigators failed to bring any charges against him. Alesia Yasyuk refused to come to the office saying that the regime has no grounds to sue them. (Nasha Svaboda, February 7)

OPPOSITION YOUTH ORGANIZATION VS. MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

On February 5, the Malady (Youth) Front, an opposition youth organization, appealed to the Belarusian Supreme Court against the Ministry of Justice's decision of January 3, 2001, to deny the organization's request for registration on the grounds that it found "irregularities" in their registration documents, reported Belapan. " We do not delude ourselves into believing that the authorities will change their mind and register our organization," Pavel Severinets, chair of the Malady Front and a former political prisoner, said in an interview to a Belapan correspondent. "They feel panic at the thought of blessing an opposition youth movement that can organize large crowds of young people to stage a public upheaval," Severinets added. The Malady Front applied for registration on May 1, 2000. Existing legislation stipulates that the Ministry of Justice has to consider the application within one month, although the Malady Front had been waiting for the written confirmation of denial for almost nine months. (Belapan, February 7)

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER REPRIMANDED

The Lukashenko government deploys an ingenious array of methods to muffle the independent press, from beating journalists to financial pressure and rigid censorship, report journalists from Minsk. On February 6, Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta (BDG), an independent newspaper, was reprimanded by the office of the Prosecutor General for publishing in a December issues an article titled "The Blood of Almaz" about the disappearance of Dmitry Zavadsky, a cameraman with the Russian public television network ORT, who has been missing since July 7, 2000. The office of the Prosecutor General alleged that the information disclosed in the article was stolen from the database of the official investigation. Petr Martsev, BDG's editor-in-chief, failed to convince the authorities that the paper conducted an independent investigation, using information from its own sources, which is not prohibited by the law. The newspaper intends to appeal the warning in court. According to the Article 16 of the Belarusian Law on Press, a newspaper may be closed after receiving two warnings within a year. (Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, February 7)

TWENTY INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS REPRIMANDED BY STATE IN 2000

On February 3, in an interview with Panorama, a main news commentary program broadcast by Belarusian State Television, Mikhail Podgainy, chair of the State Press Committee, said that twenty independent periodicals were warned in the year 2000 for not complying with the media law or with media registration regulations, reported Belapan. According to Podgainy, independent press circulation remains low and makes up only about 20 percent of the official printed media distribution. The combined, single-issue circulation for all state media is some 2 million copies, while the combined single-issue circulation of independent newspapers is just about half a million copies. (Belapan, February 5)

TWO ACTIVISTS DETAINED IN MINSK

On February 5, Minsk police detained opposition activists Pavel Krasovsky and Andrei Rogachevsky for posting a sticker calling on Belarusian youth to take part in the Valentine's Day March organized by the Malady Front, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. The policemen filed a report on the activists and warned that they may be charged with the violation of the sanitation regulations. The Minsk City Council banned the youth from holding the action in down town Minsk and issued a permit only to hold a rally at the infamous Bangalore Square on the outskirts of Minsk. (Viasna Human Rights Center, February 6)

TRADE UNIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS NGO DEMAND FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY

The leadership of Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB), a successor of the Soviet-era union, expressed indignation at the Minsk City Council decision to confine to Bangalore Park a February 14 workers' protest under the slogan "Keep Wages On Parity with Prices". "By sending the workers to the notorious 'dog-walking' park [on the outskirts of town[, the government has once again demonstrated its real attitude toward them," the FTUB's leaders said. On February 6, Viasna Human Right Center filed a complaint with the Moskovsky District Court of Minsk protesting against the municipal authorities' crackdown on free speech and assembly through an unconstitutional ruling requiring that the locations of pickets and mass gatherings be moved to Bangalore Square. (Viasna Human Rights Center, February 6)

OSCE TO PRESS FOR FAIR ELECTION IN BELARUS

On February 7, Mircea Geoana, the newly elected OSCE chair-in-office and Romanian Foreign Minister, pledged to press on with efforts to ensure that a forthcoming presidential election in Belarus will be free and fair, reported Interfax. The OSCE official said the OSCE Minsk mission had recently received a more moderate note from the Belarusian authorities, signaling an improvement in relations with Lukashenko. "Recently, there was a more moderate note. The head of the mission was called by the foreign minister and we started renewing the dialogue," Geoana told a news conference in Moscow after talks with Igor Ivanov, Russian Foreign Minister. "Belarus and its people deserve democracy and free and fair election," he added. Lukashenko's frequent rows with the OSCE AMG in Minsk have intensified since the mission dismissed parliamentary election as failing to meet international standards. In November, 2000, Lukashenko said the OSCE's observers would not be required in the presidential election and raised the prospect of asking them to leave Belarus. The OSCE plans to invite 14,000 observers to Belarus for the presidential election which the opposition fears could be rigged in Lukashenko's favor. (Interfax, February 9)

LOCAL BUSINESSMEN GO ON STRIKE

On February 1, outdoor market vendors in Soligorsk (Minsk region) went on an open-ended strike to press the local authorities to address their demands, reported Belapan. The entrepreneurs demand that the authorities repeal an excise tax on entrepreneurs and customs tariffs on goods imported from Russia, reduce space rent, simplify the accounting rules, curtail the administrative fines to 10 minimum wages (about $30), limit the number of tax inspections to one per year, and take measures to prevent officials, police, and tax officers from extorting money from vendors. (Belapan, February 3)

BRITISH AUTHORITIES REFUSE TO EXTRADITE FORMER BELARUSIAN BANKER

Nasha Svaboda reported on February 9 that the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to extradite Tamara Vinnikova, former head of the Belarusian National Bank. The Belarusian Prosecutor-General Office asked for Vinnikova's extradition in September, 2000, assuring her that she can "fear nothing." Vinnikova, who joined Lukashenko's team as a central banker at the end of 1995, was arrested in January, 1997, on charges of abuse of power, forgery, and large-scale embezzlement. After being held in a KGB detention center for 10 months, she was released due to illness. She vanished while under de facto house arrest in April 1999. Eight months later, she reappeared abroad, denouncing Lukashenko for prosecuting her for her unwillingness to go along with some shady deals that she claims cost Belarus $300 million. In October 2000, in an interview to ORT, the Russian public TV channel, Vinnikova said that she had been granted political asylum in England. (Nasha Svaboda, February 9)

-AT HOME IN BELARUS--

LUKASHENKO APPOINTS NEW SECURITY OFFICIALS

On February 5, the Soviet-style Belarusian leader, sacked Mikhail Kozlov, Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Defense Minister, reported Interfax. No reason has been given for the dismissal of this reportedly opinionated military official, who will remain in the Ministry's reserve force. Kozlov was replaced with Maj.-Gen. Sergey Gurulev. Maj-Gen Stanislav Knyazev was appointed as deputy secretary of the Belarusian State Security Council (KGB). Maj-Gen Boris Tarletsky, chief of the Minsk police, became the First Deputy Interior Minister and Chief of the Criminal Police. Col. Alexander Rak replaced Tarletsky. Alexander Shchurko was appointed as the First Deputy Interior Minister and Chief of the Public Security and Special Police. (Interfax, February 6)

--BROTHER SLAVS-

WHO WILL GET MOSCOW'S SUPPORT IN BELARUSIAN ELECTION?

On the eve of the presidential election in Belarus, the Belarus' authorities have realized that Russia no longer appreciates its friendship with eccentric Belarusian leader and may seek a replacement for him, wrote Kommersant Daily, Russian newspaper. Thus, the Kremlin might be willing to support independent candidates. One of the most promising figures here is Mikhail Myasnikovich, head of the Lukashenko administration, an experienced and shrewd administrator with good contacts in Moscow. The candidacy of Ivan Korotchenya, who was Boris Berezovsky's predecessor as the CIS executive secretary, is also being considered. Vladimir Matskevich, a former chair of the Belarusian State Security Committee dismissed in November 2000, likewise has good chances of becoming the next Belarusian president because he is personally acquainted with President Putin. Matskevich's only drawback is that he has not yet decided for himself whether he should enter big-time politics. It is clear that the candidate who enjoys Moscow's support will have a fair chance to win the Belarusian election: the current audience of the six Russian TV channels transmitting to Belarus is several times greater than that of Belarus' only national channel. (Kommersant Daily, February 6)

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For daily updates, visit our partners website, Charter 97, www.charter97.org with news in Belarusian, Russian, and English.

-CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS-

February 14- Labor union demonstration and youth rallies.

March 5-7- the Parliamentary Troika of the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe and the OSCE and the European Parliament to visit Belarus ************************************************************************

The Belarus Update is a regular news bulletin of the Belarus Human Rights Support Project of the International League for Human Rights. The League, now in its 60th year, is New York-based human rights NGO in consultative status with the United Nations.

The Belarus project was established to support Belarusian citizens in making their cases before the U.S. government and public as well as international fora regarding Alexander Lukashenko's wholesale assault on human rights and the rule of law in Belarus.

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