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Amnesty International Report 2002 - Belarus

Covering events from January-December 2001

Republic of Belarus
Head of state: Alyaksandr Lukashenka
Head of government: Gennady Novitsky (replaced Vladimir Yermoshin in October)
Capital: Minsk
Population: 10.1 million
Official languages: Belarusian, Russian
Death penalty: retentionist
2001 treaty ratifications/signatures: UN Refugee Convention and its Protocol

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No progress was made in clarifying the spate of possible "disappearances" in Belarus in 1999. At least two long-term prisoners of conscience were held and hundreds of people were detained for their peaceful opposition activities. There were further allegations of ill-treatment of detainees, particularly members of the opposition. Human rights defenders faced harassment and intimidation. Executions of people sentenced to death continued to be carried out in secret and without prior notification to the relatives.

Background

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka was re-elected in September. There were serious concerns about the fairness of the elections and the outcome was disputed by Belarus' opposition as well as many foreign governments. The pre-election period was marred by numerous accounts of arbitrary action on the part of the state aimed at stifling the peaceful activities of the opposition. Police raided the offices of election-monitoring organizations and independent newspapers and confiscated office equipment and election materials. People were arbitrarily detained; some faced continued persecution after the election because of their opposition activities.

Possible 'disappearances'

• No progress was made in determining who was responsible for the abduction and apparent killing in 1999 of several prominent political opponents of President Lukashenka. The former Minister of the Interior, Yury Zakharenko; the first secretary chairman of the dissolved parliament, the 13th Supreme Soviet Viktor Gonchar; and his companion, Anatoly Krasovsky, apparently "disappeared" in May and September 1999. The investigations conducted by the Belarusian authorities into the possible "disappearances" repeatedly drew domestic and international criticism for their lack of impartiality and transparency.

Prisoners of conscience

• On 18 June, 43-year-old Professor Yury Bandazhevsky was sentenced by the Military Collegium of the Belarusian Supreme Court in the city of Gomel to eight years' imprisonment in a strict penal colony with confiscation of property. He was convicted on charges of taking bribes from students seeking admission to the Gomel Medical Institute, of which he was the former rector. However, his conviction was widely believed to be related to his outspoken criticism of the Belarusian authorities' reaction to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 1986. International and domestic trial observers considered that not only was the basis of Yury Bandazhevsky's conviction extremely weak, but his right to a fair trial had been repeatedly violated.
• Andrey Klimov, a 36-year-old deputy in the dissolved parliament and political opponent of President Lukashenka, remained imprisoned in Minsk. He had been sentenced in March 2000 to six years' imprisonment with confiscation of property on charges of corruption. However, the real reason for his imprisonment was believed to be his opposition activities.
• On 5 February, Vladimir Koudinov was released in an amnesty after serving four years in prison. He had originally been sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in August 1997 on charges of bribing a police officer. Vladimir Koudinov had taken an active role in attempting to impeach President Lukashenka for dissolving parliament in November 1996.

Torture and ill-treatment

In January the UN Special Rapporteur on torture stated in his report that he shared the concerns about Belarus expressed by the UN Committee against Torture in November 2000. Among the concerns were numerous continuing allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment, particularly affecting political opponents of the government and peaceful demonstrators; and the pattern of failure of the authorities to promptly and impartially investigate such allegations and prosecute alleged perpetrators.

Detention of protesters

There were numerous reports that people were detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Several opposition activists were detained for up to 15 days. Detainees often alleged that police officers either used unnecessary force to detain them or ill-treated them.

• Throughout 2001 a significant number of activists of the newly emerged youth pro-democracy and human rights organization, ZUBR, served periods of imprisonment after being detained on account of their peaceful protest activities. On 21 April, 33 young people were detained during a peaceful anti-presidential event in Gorky Park in Minsk. Fourteen of the 33 youths remained in detention at Okrestina detention centre in Minsk until 25 April when they were brought before a court, which sentenced them to three days' imprisonment for taking part in an unauthorized demonstration. They were released immediately as the sentence was applied to the days they had been detained prior to trial.

Harsh conditions of detention

Protesters detained during peaceful demonstrations frequently complained about the conditions in which they were held. Conditions in places of detention and prisons fell well below international standards and often amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

• On 12 June, 60-year-old prisoner of conscience Valery Schukin, a veteran human rights defender, independent journalist and member of the dissolved parliament, began a three-month prison sentence for his opposition activities. He served his sentence in Zhodino prison where, upon arrival, officials forcibly shaved off his long beard using a blunt razor. Twenty days of the sentence were spent in isolation in a punishment cell after Valery Schukin reportedly attempted to inform other prisoners of their rights.

Human rights defenders

Individuals engaged in the defence and promotion of human rights faced considerable obstacles in the course of their work, which appeared to be part of a deliberate campaign by the Belarusian authorities to frustrate and undermine their activities.

In February the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, published the report of his visit to Belarus in June 2000. The report commented on the lack of independence of the judiciary in Belarus and on the pressure exerted on certain human rights lawyers. The report stated that: "[l]awyers must be allowed to practise their profession without any harassment, intimidation, hindrance or improper interference from the Government or any other quarter."

Death penalty

Death sentences continued to be imposed in Belarus. Owing to the veil of secrecy surrounding information about the death penalty, which continued to be classed as a state secret, no reliable figure could be obtained regarding the number of executions.

AI country reports/visits

Reports

• Belarus: Briefing for the UN Committee against Torture (AI Index: EUR 49/002/2001)
• Belarus: In the spotlight of the state – human rights defenders in Belarus (AI Index: EUR 49/005/2001)
• Belarus: Professor Yury Bandazhevsky – prisoner of conscience (AI Index: EUR 49/008/2001)

Visits

AI delegates visited Brest, Gomel, Minsk, Mogilov and Vitebsk in February and March.