Cc: Victor Sheiman
Prosecutor-General
FAX: +375 172 23 53 81

Dear Mr. Lukashenko,

The International League for Human Rights, an international, non-governmental human rights organization with special consultative status at the United Nations, is writing to express concern over continued harassment of Vera Stremkovskaya, an independent attorney and human rights advocate in Minsk.

Ms. Stremkovskaya, a Belarusian lawyer who has defended government officials fallen from favor as well as political opposition members and victims of police abuse in Belarusian courts, has come under attack once again in connection with her defense of Vasily Starovoitov, the former chairman of the Rassvet Collective Farm, who was sentenced
on May 29 to two years imprisonment on several counts including embezzlement and
bribery. At the time of his sentencing, he had already been in detention since his arrest on
November 11, 1997. Many observers in Belarus and abroad believe that the charges
against Starovoitov were politically motivated and due process was not observed.

In early April, 1999, as part of the court proceedings, Ms. Stremkovskaya asked the prosecution
about the whereabouts of forty bottles of cognac, which were confiscated from Mr.
Starovoitov's home during a search conducted as part of the investigation into his alleged
crimes. Mr. Smolentsev, the chief investigator, subsequently filed a criminal slander suit for U.S. $20,000 against Ms. Stremkovskaya for claiming that, with her question, she implied that he took the cognac for his own consumption.

Stremkovskaya did not attend the court hearing, which was scheduled for December 14, 2000, because, according to her, the court violated Article 111 of the Civil Code of Procedure, which stipulates that, in case of a change of address, the subpoena and charges must be corrected to reflect that change. Although Stremkovskaya had recently changed her address, the claimant failed to make the necessary changes, and, consequently, the subpoena was mailed to Stremkovshaya's previous address. Instead of following Article 111 and delaying the hearing until the claimant corrected the documents, the court took upon itself an unlawful liberty of trying to apprehend Stremkovskaya. Subsequently, in an action revealing the extent of government pressure on the criminal justice system, a prosecutor in an unrelated case, where Stremkovskaya was representing the defendant, handed her a copy of the summons during a court session. Stremkovskaya is expecting the next hearing of her case to take place some time in late January, 2001.

The League believes that this lawsuit was brought against Stremkovskaya in retaliation for her legal defense of opposition figures and her public advocacy of human rights. Stremkovskaya remains one of the few lawyers in Belarus able and willing to risk defending those involved in politically motivated cases. If she is disbarred and prevented from further practicing law, this would be a blow to Belarus' justice system, which already suffers from excessive subordination to the executive branch, and has already experienced the loss of several attorneys disbarred for political reasons. The League urges you to cease all harassment of Stremkovskaya, including these wrongful charges of insult, and ensure that she is able to practice her profession freely and safely.

Sincerely,

Catherine Fitzpatrick
Executive Director