INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

BELARUS UPDATE

Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 5, No. 30

July 2002

IN THIS ISSUE:

- Opposition Leader Sentenced To Three Years For Tax Evasion

- Lawyer For Kidnapped Cameraman Charged With Slander

- Local NGO Fined For Violation Of Decree #8

- Youth Center Denied Registration

- Hindu Leader Receives Heavy Fine For Park Meditation

- Local Evangelical Church Harassed By Authorities

- Jewish Graves Desecrated In Minsk

- Lukashenko Rebuffs Allegations Of Arms Sales To Iraq

- UN: March Of Democracy Falters

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS-

OPPOSITION LEADER SENTENCED FOR THREE YEARS FOR TAX EVASION

On July 23, Judge Natalya Varenik of the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk sentenced Mikhail Chigir, former prime minister and opposition leader, to three years in prison, postponing the execution of the sentence for two years, with confiscation of property for alleged tax evasion (Art. 160 of the Criminal Code). Under the sentence, he is also ordered to pay BYR 8,36 million (about $4,500) in penalties for the back taxes and banned from taking a supervisory position in a business entity for the next five years. During the trial, the charges of "official's negligence" (Art. 427 of the Criminal Code) in connection with payments for the construction of a new building of the Belagroindustrial bank in 1994, which Chigir headed prior to becoming the Prime Minister, were dropped. Chigir had argued that under Belarusian law, he was not required to pay income tax in 1998 and 1999 when he was working for a German company in Moscow because he spent more than 183 days out of the country. His lawyer, Alexander Pylchenko, said they would appeal the court's decision.

Chigir condemned the conviction as politically motivated. "This conviction is a personal vendetta waged by Lukashenko. This is a political case that they tried to present as a criminal one," Chigir told reporters after leaving the court room. "The accusations by Lukashenko that I stole hundreds of millions of dollars collapsed," he added. Amb. Michael Kozak, U.S. envoy to Belarus, who attended the trial, called for "fresh air" in the country's justice system after the verdict was announced.

In 1999, Chigir was charged with embezzlement, theft and other crimes from his term as prime minister and was jailed for eight months. In May 2000, he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment on charges of criminal negligence and abuse of power "resulting in serious damage to the state budget" under Articles 167-168 of the Belarusian Criminal Code. The court ordered him to pay $220,000 in damages. The sentence was annulled by the Supreme Court in December 2000, and the case was remanded to a lower court. In March 2001, Alexander Chigir, Chigir's youngest son, was sentenced to seven years in a maximum-security prison for car theft with confiscation of property under Art. 205, par. 4, of the Belarusian Penal Code (larceny committed by a group). Earlier, Chigir's wife, Julia, received a suspended sentence for resisting arrest.

Chigir was among four opposition candidates who challenged Lukashenko's bid for re-election last year. He and the others withdrew from the race and put their support behind Vladimir Goncharik, a common opposition candidate, but Lukashenko swept the September vote in an internationally criticized election. (Belapan/ Charter 97, July 23)

LAWYER OF KIDNAPPED CAMERAMAN CHARGED WITH SLANDER

On July 25, the Prosecutor's office of the Leninsky District of Minsk filed slander charges against Igor Aksenchik, a lawyer who represented Olga Zavadskaya, mother of kidnapped journalist Dmitry Zavadsky, in the case against Valery Ignatovich, Maksim Malik, Aleksey Guz and Sergei Savushkin, convicted of committing several crimes, including Zavadsky's abduction.

On February 13, 2002, while speaking to journalists near the entrance to the court's building, Aksenchik said that during the investigation, the guilt of the four members of the Ignatovich group had not been proved. He insisted that a number of high-ranking Belarusian officials, including Prosecutor General Viktor Sheiman, masterminded the abduction of Dmitry Zavadsky as well as Yuri Zakharenko, the former Minister of Internal Affairs, founder of an independent officers' organization critical of the Lukashenko government, who disappeared on May 7, 1999, and Victor Gonchar, a 13th Supreme Soviet deputy chair and a high profile opposition politician, who went missing on September 16, 1999. In March 2002, Aksenchik was stripped of his license to practice law after he accused the Belarusian leader of blocking the investigation into the case.

On July 25, Aksenchik told journalists in Minsk that the investigation against him was opened "on orders from the top." He reiterated that Sheiman should have been questioned in Zavadsky's case because there was witnesses' testimony about his involvement in the case, including from two former officials from the prosecutor's office who fled abroad after threats received for their whistle-blowing. (BBC/ Svaboda, July 24)

LOCAL NGO FINED FOR VIOLATION OF DECREE #8

On July 23, Judge Alexander Khomich of the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Gomel upheld the earlier decision of his colleague, Anna Novik, who charged Victor Kornienko, head of the local branch of the Civic Initiative, with violation of the presidential Decree #8 "Several Measures on Improving Distribution and Use of Foreign Humanitarian Aid" and fined him BYR1 million (about $625). [The decree bans foreign donations to NGOs that are involved in any political activities or election monitoring. The judge ordered the confiscation of the organization's five computers and a printer.-Ed.].

On August 13, 2001, after the local KGB initiated a criminal investigation against the Civic Initiative on charges of "slandering" the Belarusian president, police broke into Kornienko's private home and seized six computers, a printer, and a copying machine he used for his NGO work. Later, the case was dropped, but the organization's numerous requests to have the equipment returned fell on deaf ears. Instead, the KGB ordered the State Tax Committee of Zheleznodorozhny District of Gomel to audit the NGO. The audit was completed by November 27 and resulted in imposing a fine of BYR 6 million ($3,750). Now, after the court has established the fact of violation of the Decree #8, the Civic Initiative is on the verge of closure. (Viasna Human Rights Center/ RFE/RL, July 24)

YOUTH CENTER DENIED REGISTRATION

On July 12, the Vitebsk City Executive Committee refused to register Veras, a Vitebsk- based youth center. In its rejection notice, the authorities reportedly stated that "the application form contains a number of inaccuracies and does not comply with the requirements for registration." The Center was reminded that in accordance with a bill on amendments to the Administrative Offenses Code, which Lukashenko signed into law in December 1999, any work on behalf of an unregistered NGO is punishable by fines. (Viasna Human Rights Center, July 21)

- RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN BELARUS -

HINDU LEADER RECEIVES HEAVY FINE FOR PARK MEDITATION

On July 24, Judge Vladimir Kornov of the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk found Tatiana Akadanova, the leader of Light of Kaylasa, a Minsk-based Hindu group, guilty of violating Art. 167, par. 2 ("organizing an unauthorized demonstration") and fined her BYR 1.5 million (about $825). Tatiana Zhilevich, another group member, was accused of violating Art. 166 ("disobedience to the police") and Art. 167, par. 1 ("participation in mass actions violating public order") of the Belarusian administrative Offences Code and fined BYR 200,000 (about $115).

On July 13, a group of 19 Hindu followers attempting to hold a peaceful procession to a park to meditate were arrested by police at the park near a textile factory in Minsk. The Hindus were charged with staging an unauthorized demonstration, forced into a police vehicle with their hands twisted behind their backs, and held at the Okrestina detention center for two days. Two days later, 16 Hindus were charged with "participation in mass actions violating public order" and fined BYR 200,000 (about $115) each.

Akadanova said that a policeman who testified against her was not among those who arrested her and other Hindus. She expressed concern that since all group members are people of limited means, they will be unable to pay the heavy fines imposed on them. "Many of our members live at their parents' apartments and do not have a lot of possessions," she added. [Under Art. 268 of the Belarusian Administrative Offenses Code, all fines should be paid within two weeks after the sentence announcement. If an individual fails to pay the fine and does not receive any salary or pension, he may face a property confiscation.-Ed.].

Natalya Filipchuk, Akadanova's lawyer, commented that the cases against the Hindus should never have been brought to court. "The court made illegal decisions which flagrantly violate the citizens' constitutional rights and the presumption of innocence. I believe they were sentenced for their adherence to their religion," Filipchuk said. She added that it was difficult to image that such a case would have been brought against Orthodox or Catholic priests. The group's application to hold a rally in Minsk in order to attract public attention to their case was denied by the authorities. (Viasna Human Rights Center/ Keston News Service, July 24)

AUTHORITIES HARASS LOCAL EVANGELICAL CHURCH

The Grace of Jesus, Church of Evangelical Christians in the town of Kroupki, Minsk Region, has been experiencing pressure from the local authorities. Initially, the believers were accused of illegal seizure of the land where they had built their church. When they managed to confirm their right to the land with proper documentation, the local executive committee formed a special commission, which surveyed the lot several times, trying unsuccessfully to prove that the land does not belong to the church. Dmitry Karan, deputy chair of the district executive committee visited the church's Sunday school and made a list of all children, who attends it.

In May 2002, police officer Boris Gruk broke into the apartment of Tatiana Masherova, the church's 65-year-old accountant, without a search warrant and demanded documentation concerning the distribution and use of foreign humanitarian aid. The policeman also searched the cellar, which, he alleged, Masherova occupied illegally. Two weeks later, another policeman, who introduced himself as Sergei Vorobyev, visited Masherova again. After his visit, Masherova was summoned to the local administrative commission, which ordered her to locate the cellar and to pay a fine in the amount of three minimal wages (about $17) for "seizing the communal property without permission." Masherova did not agree with the decision and refused to sign the ruling. On July 10, another policeman, who called himself Dmitry Vorobyev (it seems that the local law-enforcers are not very creative in making up their last names), visited Masherova. He ordered Masherova to pay the fine and reproached her for "betraying Orthodoxy." (Viasna Human Rights Center, July 21)

JEWISH GRAVES DESECRATED IN MINSK

On July 19, the Jewish Religious Union of Belarus reported that unidentified assailants have smashed more than 50 Jewish graves and accused the authorities of inaction amid a string of anti-Semitic incidents. Yuri Dorn, head of the Union, said that at least 26 Jewish graves in Minsk's Northern Cemetery had been recently vandalised and more than 27 in the city's Eastern Cemetery. Last week, more than 70 tombstones were desecrated in the city of Borisov east of Minsk, and police arrested some teenagers suspected of committing the attack. "The desecration of Jewish cemeteries in Belarus has reached a massive scale," Dorn said. "The authorities' inaction prompts these activities," he said, adding that "anti-Semites feel impunity in the country." Dorn said the government was reluctant to turn over synagogues closed during Soviet times back to Jewish groups. The authorities so far have handed over nine synagogues, while various official structures have continued to occupy 34 others, he said.

On July 24, Leonid Levin, President of the Belarusian Union of Jewish Communities, accused the Lukashenko government of tolerating a growing wave of anti-Semitism in the country. In an open letter to the Belarusian President and the Prosecutor General's Office, Levin demand police action against those responsible for the desecration of the graves and other anti-Semitic attacks. "This vandalism, part of a rising tide of anti-Semitism in Belarus, is outrageous. These are not isolated incidents and do not happen only in Minsk," he said. "We cannot speak of state-sponsored anti-Semitism, which would see Jews barred from universities and quotas, but we are concerned about the anti-Jewish statements on radio and television and the publication of anti-Semitic books," added Levin. "So far, no one from the government has taken the slightest notice or reacts in any way," the Jewish community leader complained.

Natalya Petkevich, Lukashenko's press spokeswoman, told AFP that the government was aware of the incidents but it was up to law enforcement officials to decide whether to launch criminal investigations. "I know personally about these facts. In the government there are competent agencies which should deal with such matters. If there is evidence of a crime, then they should start a criminal inquiry," Petkevich said.

On July 24, Alexander Lukashenko assured his compatriots there was no anti-Semitism in Belarus and called the desecration of Jewish graves an accidental "hooligan action." He added that visitors to the country, not Belarusians, could be responsible for the vandalism at the cemeteries. "The government's policy does not allow anyone to incite interethnic hatred," Lukashenko told reporters in remarks carried by state television.

Located within the Pale of Settlement, Belarus was home to a substantial Jewish minority before the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Of the 6 million Jews murdered in Europe during World War II, 800,000 were massacred on what is now the territory of Belarus. Soviet discrimination prompted many Jews to hide their backgrounds, and many fled to Israel or the West following the 1991 Soviet collapse. According to the latest figures, about 27,000 Jews remain in Belarus today. (Belapan, The Jerusalem Post, AFP, July 18-24)

- AT HOME IN BELARUS -

LUKASHENKO REBUFFS ALLEGATIONS OF ARMS SALES TO IRAQ

On July 24, Alexander Lukashenko dismissed European criticism of his government and rebuffed claims of arms sales to Iraq, saying he was not going to change the country's foreign policy. Lukashenko lashed out at a recent resolution by the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly, criticizing the Belarusian authorities for the alleged arms sales. "If they know today that Belarus deals arms with Iraq, they should provide us with concrete facts, not mere allegations. Otherwise, they probably don't have any real evidence," the Belarusian leader said after a meeting with his ministers. (Belapan, July 24)

- INTERNATIONAL NEWS-

UN: MARCH OF DEMOCRACY FALTERS

On July 24, the United Nations Development Program released its annual Human Development Report, which says that the democratic movement that swept away authoritarian regimes in East Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa after the fall of the Berlin Wall has stalled, and even gone into reverse. "Some 73 countries -with 42 per cent of the world's people - still do not hold free and fair elections," the report says. The report says: "In Belarus, Cameroon, Togo, Uzbekistan and elsewhere, one party states have allowed elections, but ended up permitting only limited opening for political competition. Most of these 'limited' democracies suffer from shallow political participation, where citizens have little trust in their governments and are disaffected from politics, or the countries are dominated by a single powerful party or group, despite formal elections."

Democracy's march in the final 20 years of the last century has been called "The Third Wave," after Samuel Huntington's 1991 book of that name. The other waves were at the start of the 20th century and after World War II. Both were followed by reversals. UNDP maintains that democracy, or at least a government responsive to the desires of its people, is essential for development and that its lack is preventing many countries from rising out of poverty.

The program also released the ranking of individual countries in the 2002 human development index. The index is a composite figure measuring life expectancy, education and per-capita income. The highest index have Norway (0.942); Sweden (0.941); Canada (0.940); Belgium (0.939); Australia (0.939) and the United States (0.939). Belarus took 56th place with the index equal to 0.788 right after impoverished Cuba (0.795).The lowest ranking received were Burkina Faso (0.325); Mozambique (0.322); Burundi (0.313); Niger (0.277), and Sierra Leone (0.275). (UN, July 24)

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The Belarus Update is a weekly news bulletin of the Belarus Human Rights Support Project of the International League for Human Rights (www.ilhr.org). The League, now in its 61st year, is New York-based human rights NGO in consultative status with the United Nations ECOSOC. Visit our website for back issues, analysis, and links to news sites and NGOs in Belarus: www.belarusupdate.org

The Belarus project was established to support Belarusian citizens in making their case for the protection of civil society before the international community regarding Alexander Lukashenko's wholesale assault on human rights and the rule of law in Belarus.

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CALENDAR

September 9-19 OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting
September 16 Third anniversary of the disappearance of Gonchar and Krasovsky

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