Paris-Geneva, May 15, 2011
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has been informed about a new judicial decision issued against Mr. Ales Bialiatski, President of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Viasna” and FIDH Vice-President and requests your urgent intervention.
New information:
According to the information received, the Minsk Pervomaisky District Court issued on March 29, 2012 a new decision against Mr. Ales Bialiatski, ordering him to pay an additional amount of 140,366,151 rubles (nearly 12,700 Euro) in penalty, in addition to the 757,526,717 Belarusian Rubles (approximately 70,000 Euros) which had already been paid in January 2012. The case was initiated by the Tax Inspection of Minsk Pervomaisky District and brought by the Prosecution for “damages to the federal budget in the form of unpaid income tax”, on the pretext that the fine that Mr. Bialiatski was ordered to pay following his sentencing on November 24, 2011, and upheld in appeal on January 24, 2012, had not been indexed to the inflation, and had therefore to be up-scaled. The Court ruling of March 29 further states that the inflation index upscale corresponds to the period running from May 2008, when foreign funds were deposited on Mr. Bialiatski’s bank account, up to January 2012, when his wife, Ms. Natalia Pinchuk, transferred the amount of the fine on the Pervomaisky District Court’s bank account. The court decision was issued in the absence of the accused. While the ruling mentions that “the defendant did not show up at the hearing, is currently incarcerated and was notified about the date and time of the hearing”, neither Mr. Bialiatski’s colleagues, nor his relatives, were notified or even aware of this hearing. Regarding the merits of this new proceedings, the Belarusian Tax Code does not provide for any kind of indexing. On April 30, 2012, members of “Viasna” filed a complaint before the Minsk Pervomaisky District Court to challenge the decision to index the amount of the fine on the inflation rate. It filed another complaint before the Cassation Court to challenge the “government surcharge penalty” which, according to Mr. Bialiatski lawyers, does not refer to any legal basis. The Observatory is appalled by this new decision that is contrary to the law, and by the continued judicial harassment of Mr. Ales Bialiatski on blatantly biased grounds, and recalls that the latter has been arbitrarily detained since August 4, 2011 as a means to sanction his human rights activities (see background information). The Observatory fears that this new decision only aims at depriving Mr. Bialiatski from the possibility to be covered by the amnesty law of July 3, 2012, and to benefit from other early release measures. In addition, new unlawful restrictive measures have been imposed on Mr. Ales Bialiatski regarding his conditions of detention. In particular, his basic prison wages have been reduced to a fifth of what is ordinarily granted to other inmates to buy items at the prison stores. His right to receive and send letters has also been curtailed, as the prison authorities have failed to deliver a significant portion of his correspondence. Background information: Mr. Ales Bialiatski was arrested on August 4, 2011 by the police representative of the Department of Financial Investigations on charges of tax evasion under Article 243, part 2, of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (“concealment of profits on an especially large scale”), which provides for up to seven years’ imprisonment. On November 24, 2011, the Pervomaiski District Court of Minsk sentenced Ales Bialiatski to four and a half years of imprisonment under strict regime conditions, the confiscation of property, including the premises used for Viasna’s offices and a fine. In January 2012, the entire amount of the fine was transferred to the court’s bank account after local NGOs collected money in order to cover the fine and court expenditures, which amounted to a total of 757,526,717 Belarusian Rubles (approximately 70,000 Euros). On January 24, 2012, the Minsk City Court confirmed the sentence. On February 28, 2012, Mr. Ales Bialiatski was transferred to Babruisk Penal Colony No. 2, where, by court order, he must spend the next four years, less the seven months already spent in prison. Actions requested : Please write to the Belarusian authorities, urging them to : i. Immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Ales Bialiatski since his detention is arbitrary as it seems to merely sanction his human rights activities; ii. Put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Mr. Ales Bialiatski and quash the decisions regarding this additional fine as well as the previous one; iii. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ales Bialiatski; iv. Conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998 as well as international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Belarus. Addresses: · President Alexander Lukashenko, Fax : + 375 172 26 06 10 or + 375 172 22 38 72, Email: contact@president.gov.by · Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus, Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Makei, Fax: + 375 17 226-06-10 · General Prosecutor, Grigory Alekseevich Vasilevich, Fax: + 375 17 226 42 52 · Minister of Justice of Belarus, Mr. Viktor Grigorevich Golovanov, Email kanc@minjust.by · Permanent Mission of Belarus to the United Nations in Geneva, Fax: +41 22 748 24 51. Email: mission.belarus@ties.itu.int · Embassy of Belarus in Brussels, Fax : + 32 2.340.02.87, Email : embbel@skynet.be Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Belarus in your respective country.
PRESS RELEASE - THE OBSERVATORY
Paris-Geneva, April 19, 2012.
On April 2, 2012, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), submitted the case of Mr. Ales Bialiatski to the United Nations (UN) Working group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD).
Mr. Ales Bialiatski is the Vice President of FIDH and the President of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, in Belarus.
He was arrested on August 4, 2011, and sentenced to 4 years and a half imprisonment under fabricated charges of “tax evasion on an especially large scale” in November 2011, following a blatantly unfair trial which clearly showed the politically-motivated character of the prosecution.
“We reiterate our strong condemnation of the ongoing arbitrary detention of Ales Bialiatski, which was staged by the Belarusian authorities to silence his human rights activities and those of his organisation, Viasna. We ask the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to confirm the arbitrariness of the detention requiring his immediate and unconditional release”, OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock said today.
“This communication to the WGAD is in line with our efforts of international mobilisation to obtain the release of our Vice President, whose detention has already been denounced by a large number of international organisations and State representatives over the past months” FIDH President Souhayr Belhassen added.
The Observatory urges Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Bialiatski and to conform with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Republic of Belarus.
March 30, 2012, FIDH press release
On 24 February 2012, the Pervomaisk District Court in Vitebsk sentenced opposition activist Siarhei Kavalenka to two years and one month imprisonment, having found him guilty of evading serving a punishment of supervised release. On 14 May 2010, the Oktyabrsky District Court in Vitebsk sentenced Mr. Kavalenka to three years of provisional supervised release. Criminal proceedings were launched against the activist after he hung a Belarusian white-red-white flag, an alternative to the official flag, on top of the main New Year’s tree in Vitebsk on 7 January 2010. During his arrest, Mr. Kavalenka was severely beaten by militia officers. Later he was accused under Criminal Code Article 339.1 (deliberate acts violating public order) and Article 363.2 (violence or threats of violence against law enforcement officials on duty). Mr. Kavalenka’s public demonstration and hanging of the flag cannot in any way be classified as disturbing public order. This socio-political action do not display “special cynicism or blatant contempt for society” and that did not have this as their goal. Prosecuting Mr. Kavalenka again, this time for allegedly evading punishment, is a bald-faced attempt to continue the political persecution of this opposition activist and to further isolate him. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Kavalenka went on a hunger strike, which he has been continuing with breaks since 19 December 2011. FIDH and the Human Rights Center Viasna are especially troubled that Mr. Kavalenka has been receiving medical assistance in the poor conditions of the penitentiary. On 26 March 2012, Mr. Kavalenka was moved to the psychiatric ward on the grounds of the Vitba-3 penal colony. Under these conditions, FIDH and the Human Rights Center Viasna express fear for his life and have grave concerns that he could possibly undergo forced psychiatric treatment. FIDH and the Human Rights Center Viasna call upon the Belarusian government to release Mr. Kavalenka immediately and unconditionally, cease its political persecution of him, and provide him with the urgent medical care in an open-type medical institution. Responsibility for Mr. Kavalenka’s life and health lie squarely with senior officials at the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose care he is currently under.
Paris, 19 March 2012 - On 16 March 2012, Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavaliou were executed, two days after President Lukashenka rejected their request for clemency. The two men had been condemned to death on 30 November 2011 on charges of plotting a powerful blast in the Minsk underground in April 2011. " These executions are a further illustration of the total absence of an independent judiciary in Belarus, since the guilt of the two young men has not been clearly established and the trial was not fair. These capital shootings look like a way to silence two disturbing witnesses", said Souhayr Belhassen, President of FIDH. Both men were arrested on 12 April 2011, as the main suspects in orchestrating the explosion which killed 15 people in a metro station of Minsk, situated within 100m of the presidential administration building. Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavaliou were also accused of organizing explosions in Vitebsk and Minsk in 2005 and 2008. Conflicting testimonies in the course of the trial cast doubt on the defendants' involvement in organizing the blasts. Dzmitry Kanavalau recanted his earlier testimony in which he had admitted his connection to the various blasts, arguing that he had confessed to those crimes under psychological pressure and torture. Moreover, observers reported serious procedural violations during the preliminary investigation and the judicial examination of the case, sufficient to constitute a blatant infringement on the defendants' rights to a transparent and impartial trial. Neither the motive nor the exact circumstances of the crime were ever established in Court. In addition, the elements of proof on which both men were condemned have now been destroyed by the court. " Belarus is the very last country in Europe to use the death penalty. 70% of the countries worldwide are abolitionist in law or in practice. With these executions, the authorities of Belarus have unfortunately chosen to go contrary to this global progressive trend", added Souahyr Belhassen. FIDH calls on the Belarusian authorities to abolish the death penalty for all crimes and to adopt an immediate moratorium on the imposition and execution of the death penalty.
PRESS RELEASE - THE OBSERVATORY
Paris-Geneva, March 16, 2012. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), deplores the series of travel bans imposed on a number of human rights defenders by the Belarusian authorities, amid the worsening of EU-Belarus diplomatic relations.
On March 11, 2012, Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich, Vice Chairman of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, was banned from leaving the country by customs officers at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border point “Kamenny Loh”. No explanation was given to him regarding the reasons of this denial.
On March 13, 2012, a “travel ban” was notified to Mr. Aleh Hulak, member of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC). The travel ban was allegedly issued on March 5, 2012 by the Migration and Citizenship Department of the Frunzenski District of Minsk, reportedly upon request of the Ministry of Justice, because of a civil suit that would have been filed against Mr. Aleh Hulak. However, when Mr. Hulak asked the Ministry of Justice for further information about this so-called lawsuit, he was told that in reality no judicial case was opened against him.
Then on March 14, 2012 in the morning, Mr. Andrey Dynko, Editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper “Nasha Niva”, which regularly reports on human rights violations, was informed that he was on the list of citizens banned from leaving Belarus, and was forced to get off the “Minsk-Vilnius” train. The border guards ordered him to return to Minsk without providing any reasons, and told him to contact the Department of Citizenship and Migration of his place of residence for further information.
On March 15, 2012, Ms. Zhanna Litvina, Chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), was informed that she was also temporarily banned to travel as she was going through passport control at Minsk airport, on her way to Warsaw. Her passport was reportedly stamped 'exit temporarily limited'.
On the same day, the Chairman of the Legal Commission of the BHC, Mr. Harry Pahanyayla, consulted the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Department of Internal Affairs to find out whether he was allowed to go abroad, as he was planning to. After he insisted, he was told that he had indeed been banned from leaving the country on March 5, 2012, at the request of the Ministry of Justice, on the basis of a case that would have been opened against him for being in debt. However, the Ministry of Justice subsequently stated that Mr. Harry Pahanyayla was not in its lists of persons whose travelling abroad had been restricted, and no explanation about the above-mentioned debt case was provided to him.
Several other individuals have further been impeded from exiting the country since early March, including a number of opposition figures.
At the beginning of March 2012, the Belarusian authorities were therefore reportedly considering to establish a list of 108 human rights and opposition activists, with the aim of banning them from leaving the country.
This harsh reaction by the Belarusian authorities appears to be a direct act of retaliation following the extension by the European Union (EU) of the list of Belarusian officials falling under visa restrictions and freezing of assets in the EU. In February 2012, the EU foreign ministers indeed blacklisted an additional number of 21 Belarusian officials, bringing the blacklist total to more than 200 individuals.
The Observatory denounces this series of travel bans against human rights defenders and recalls that Article 12.2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Belarus is a party since November 12, 1973, provides that “everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own”. The Observatory deplores that by banning human rights defenders from travelling, the Belarusian authorities are preventing them from carrying their human rights activities, and are therefore violating further the 1998 United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
PRESS RELEASE - THE OBSERVATORY
Paris-Geneva, February 21, 2012.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), condemns the rejection of the appeal lodged by the Vice-Chairman of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Viasna”, Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich, before the Minsk City Court.
On February 13, 2012, the Minsk City Court dismissed the second appeal lodged by Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich, and upheld the verdict which had been issued against him by the Partyzanski District Court of Minsk on December 16, 2011, sentencing him to a fine of 53 million rubles (about 4,840 euros). A first ruling had been issued against him on October 19, 2011, requesting him to pay 4,75 millions Belarusian rubles (about 435 euros).
The whole case opposes him to the tax inspection of Minsk Partyzanski District, on the basis of Article 13.6 of the Administrative Code (“non-payment or incomplete payment of taxes”). The Tax Inspection alleges that Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich failed to declare sums of money that it considered as "personal incomes". These sums, which were transferred on bank accounts in Lithuania by international organisations such as Amnesty International and the Danish Institute for Human Rights, have on the contrary always been used in the framework of the activities of the HRC "Viasna".
The authorities of Belarus were able to open this case against Mr. Stefanovich following the transfer of some banking information by the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Dues and Taxes of Belarus, as was the case for the President of the HRC Viasna Ales Bialiatski, who is currently serving 4,5 years imprisonment. The fact that the information passed by the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice to the Belarusian authorities was incomplete (as stated in a letter from the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice dated of the end of August 2011) has not been taken into account.
The Observatory strongly denounces the confirmation of the verdict against Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich and the ongoing judicial harassment against him, which merely seem to aim at sanctioning his human rights activities and the activities of HRC Viasna, and deplores the continued violations of fair trial standards in that case.
The Observatory urges the Belarusian authorities to put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the fiscal, administrative and judicial level - against Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich as well as against all human rights defenders in the country and to conform with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, and to ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Belarusian Republic.
PRESS RELEASE - THE OBSERVATORY
Paris-Geneva, January 24, 2012. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), strongly condemns the confirmation of the sentencing to prison of Mr. Ales Bialiatski, President of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Viasna” and FIDH Vice-President.
Today, the Minsk City Court confirmed the sentencing of human rights defender Ales Bialiatski to four and a half years of imprisonment under strict regime conditions and the confiscation of property, including the premises used for Viasna's offices, for “concealment of profits on an especially large scale in pursuance of prior agreements” under Article 243, part 2, of the Criminal Code. Mr. Bialiatski was represented by his lawyer at the trial, which lasted 40 minutes and ended with the verdict one hour and a half later.
Following sentencing by the first instance court on November 24, 2011, Belarusian NGOs had launched a campaign to collect money in order to cover material damages allegedly done to the State and court expenditures, which amounted to a total of 757,526,717 Belarusian Rubles (approximately 70,000 Euros), to which he had been sentenced by the court of first instance. Days before the appeal, the entire amount of the fine was paid. All motions filed by Mr. Bialiatski's lawyer were rejected without due consideration under the pretext that it was obvious for the judges that Mr. Bialiatski was guilty. All this demonstrate the politically motivated nature of this condemnation.
The Observatory considers that the prosecution, detention and sentencing of Mr. Ales Bialiatski amounts to judicial harassment of a human rights defender for carrying out purely legitimate human rights activities, protected under all international human rights standards. This criminal case was fabricated to intimidate and silence the Belarusian civil society, which intensified during the post-electoral repression of all voices dissenting with the regime.
“For the past year, the situation in Belarus has gone from bad to worse. This sentencing sends the unequivocal signal that the authorities do not intend to make any progress to comply with their human rights obligations”, says Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President. “It is a sad day for Belarus and for human rights. The authorities do not let any space for human rights NGOs to exist. In consequence, all human rights principles are challenged today in Belarus”.
The Observatory recalls that other members of HRC “Viasna” have also been harassed over the past weeks, including its Vice-Chairman, Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich. In addition, today's verdict being enforceable, HRC “Viasna” must evacuate its headquarters.
The criminal case was based on information provided to the Belarusian authorities by the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice and Attorney General of Poland, concerning accounts opened by Mr. Bialiatski in foreign banks to operate HRC “Viasna”. The Belarusian tax authorities wrongly considered the money on the account of Mr. Bialiatski's as his personal income and accused him of concealing it. This money, which was transferred by organisations for the purpose of funding ordinary human rights activities, was by no means used as personal funds but to finance legitimate activities of the HRC “Viasna”, such as election monitoring and assistance provided to victims of political repression.
“This ruling is a travesty of justice. Receiving funding for human rights work is fully legitimate. It must not be criminalised but supported“, says Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General.
The Observatory firmly denounces the sentencing of Mr. Bialiatski and calls upon the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him as his detention is arbitrary, guarantee in all circumstances his physical and psychological integrity, and stop any kind of harassment - including at the judicial level - against human rights defenders, in line with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights instruments ratified by Belarus.
For more information, please contact:
· FIDH: Karine Appy / Arthur Manet: + 33 1 43 55 25 18
· OMCT: Delphine Reculeau: + 41 22 809 49 39
December 23, 2011
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), condemns the sentencing of Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich, Vice-Chairman of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, by to a fine of 53 million rubles (about 4,840 euros).
On December 16, 2011, another hearing took place against Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich, during which the Partyzanski District Tax Inspection of Minsk sentenced him to a fine of 53 million rubles (about 4,840 euros). This case concerns the appeal lodged by Mr. Stefanovich against a ruling issued on October 19, 2011 requesting him to pay 4,75 millions Belarusian rubles (about 435 euros) in a case opposing him to the tax inspection of Minsk Partyzanski District, on the basis of Article 13.6 of the Administrative Code (“non-payment or incomplete payment of taxes”). The Tax Inspection alleged that Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich failed to declare sums of money that it considered as "personal incomes". These sums, which were transferred on bank accounts in Lithuania by international organizations such as Amnesty International and the Danish Institute for Human Rights to support the activities of Viasna, were however used in the framework of the activities of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Viasna". The authorities of Belarus were able to open this case against Mr. Stefanovich following the transfer of some banking information by the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Dues and Taxes of Belarus, as was the case for Director of Human Rights Center Viasna Ales Bialiatski, who was condemned to 4,5 years imprisonment on November 24, 2011. The fact that the information passed by the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice to the Belarusian authorities was incomplete (as stated in a letter from the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice dated of the end of August 2011) was not taken into account. During the hearing, Mr. Stefanovich stressed that the administrative case against him was directly related to KGB pressure on the HRC “Viasna”, and recalled the letter of the Head of the KGB to the Deputy Prosecutor General of Belarus dated November 3, 2010, which stated that the “radical opposition" was financed through “Viasna” and ordered an investigation on the activities of Viasna, and more particularly of Messrs. Bialiatski and Stefanovich. He also added that tax inspectors had been checking his accounts and those of his relatives for years, and had always failed to find any discrepancies between profits and expenditures. Indeed, the Observatory recalls that the authorities have been hunting Mr. Stefanovich’s resources over the past years. Since 2008, he has been asked on several occasions to provide his tax returns, including a tax form on the total income he received over 10 years, although he had already presented all those documents to the district tax inspection. The Observatory further denounces the blatant violation of due process and fair trial standards. On October 19, 2011, the Deputy Chief of the Tax Inspection Ms. Elena Kutnik, had indeed presented a "decree on administrative violation" to Mr. Stefanovich, in which the verdict had been already filed and signed. Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich stated that he will appeal against the verdict. The Observatory strongly denounces the sentencing of and the ongoing judicial harassment against Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich, which merely seem to aim at sanctioning his human rights activities and the activities of HRC Viasna, and deplores the continuing violations of fair trial standards against him. The Observatory urges the Belarusian authorities to put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich as well as against all human rights defenders and, more generally, to conform with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, and to ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Belarusian Republic.
25 November 2011
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources of a new hearing planned for December 2, 2011 against Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich, Vice-Chairman of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Belarus. New information: This case concerns the appeal lodged by Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich against a ruling issued on October 19, 2011 requesting him to pay 4,727,330 Belarusian rubles (about 600 euros) in an administrative case opposing him to the tax inspection of Minsk Partyzanski District (see background information). Mr. Stepanovich was informed on November 23 of this next hearing date. Another hearing already planned for December 2 concerns court proceedings aimed at collecting allegedly unpaid taxes, but also penalties, from Valiantsin Stefanovich. Both hearings will be held at the Partyzanski district court of Minsk. The Observatory strongly denounces these acts of judicial harassment against Mr. Stefanovich, which seem to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities, and calls for the respect of fair trial standards at both hearings. Background information: On October 19, 2011, Mr. Stefanovich was requested to pay 4,727,330 Belarusian rubles (about 600 euros) in the administrative case opposing him to the tax inspection of Minsk Partyzanski District. He was accused of having "understated the amount of his taxable income". Since the start of the proceedings, penalties have increased from 6 to 9 million rubles. The tax office wants him to pay 41 million rubles. The Observatory recalls that the authorities have been hunting Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich’s resources over the past years. Since 2008, he has been asked on several occasions to provide his tax returns, including a tax form on the total income he received over 10 years (1998-2008), although he had already presented all those documents to the district tax inspection. Actions requested : Please write to the Belarusian authorities, urging them to : i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich, as well as of all human rights defenders in Belarus; ii. Put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich as well as against all other human rights defenders, and ensure his rights to a fair trial at both hearings; iii. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially:  its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, its Article 6 (b) and (c), which states that “Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others […] as provided for in human rights and other applicable international instruments, freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms and [...] to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters”. and its Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration” ; Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Belarusian Republic.
Minsk-Paris, 24 November 2011 - Today, Ales Bialiatski, FIDH Vice-President and President of the Belarusian Human Rights Center “Viasna” (Viasna), was sentenced to 4 and a half years strict regime detention, the payment of a fine, as well as the confiscation of his property, including Viasna’s offices and property registered with members of his family. FIDH calls for his immediate and unconditional release and for all charges against him to be abandoned.
“We condemn this decision by the Belarusian justice system as arbitrary and politically motivated. Worse, the hearing proved once again that this trial was directly ordered by the regime; the KGB letter initiating this legal harassment and presented at the trial is clear evidence of this” declared FIDH President, Mrs Souhayr Belhassen. “This letter, dating back to 28 October 2010, also shows that the crackdown on Belarusian civil society, of which Ales Bialiatski's case is a most flagrant and symbolic demonstration, was planned and prepared to silence human rights defenders long before the catastrophic 19 December 2010 presidential elections” she continued. “We fear that other members of Viasna will be targeted as part of this violent repression. FIDH reiterates its strong solidarity with Ales, his family and all Viasna members”, Belhassen concluded.
Ales Bialiatski is a human rights defender, he is arbitrarily detained : FIDH urges all States and international organisations to take urgent and firm action for the immediate and unconditional release of Ales Bialiatski , for the abandon of all charges against himand for the freedom to act for the respect of international human rights standards for Viasna and other independent NGOs.
From the courtroom: details of the trial
Bialiatski’s trial, presided over by Judge Bondarenko, took place from 2 to 24 November in Minsk’s Pervomaiski District Court. An observation mission of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights defenders attended the whole trial.
FIDH strongly condemns the Belarusian State’s refusal to issue visas to its President, Mrs Souhayr Belhassen, and its Honorary President, Mr Patrick Baudouin, as well as to other international observers. FIDH further denounces the use at the trial of illegally obtained personal and professional email exchanges between FIDH representatives and Viasna members.
“Despite lengthy preparation, the accusation [against Bialiatski] was so poorly prepared and documented that it was literary falling apart” stated Artak Kirakosyan, FIDH Secretary General, who observed the trial in Minsk: “documents presented have had no relation to the charges or were neither signed nor stamped, and the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice declared in an official letter in August 2011 that the documents transmitted by them in March 2011 and used by the Belarusian authorities against Mr Bialiatski do not correspond to the reality. However, they were still used at the trial. Some of the witnesses cited by the prosecution declared that they were not aware of the Bialiatski case at all”. He continued: “This whole trial was a poorly prepared demonstration of a systematic politics seeking to weaken and criminalise human rights defenders who continue their legitimate and courageous efforts in the context of growing authoritarianism in Belarus”.
Throughout the trial Bialiatski and others were repeatedly asked openly political questions by the prosecution. Questions centred on how Viasna works, how it receives funds and how those funds are disseminated, with witnesses repeatedly being asked about their membership of Viasna – a point having no relevance to the tax evasion charges at issue. On 10 November, the trial took an openly political turn with the accused being interrogated on his knowledge of Presidential Decree No. 24, de facto prohibiting any financial support to associations without presidential approval. The trial was subsequently interrupted by the announcement of further charges, declared by the prosecutor to be significantly different from the original trial charge. However, when the trial resumed on 16 November the new charges were negligibly different pertaining merely to preliminary agreements to a charge of non-declared income.
On 23 November 2011, defence lawyers highlighted that some pages from the bank accounts lodged in evidence were photocopies without certification that they were true to the original documents transmitted. In contravention of Belarus’ Code of Criminal Procedure, other documents presented in the prosecution file, including a contract between HRC Viasna and a donor, came from “an anonymous source”. Indeed, many documents had no connection whatsoever to the charges. The defence also emphasized that the Belarusian State’s inquiries with Lithuanian and Polish banks was made prior the initiation of a criminal case, violating the Legal Protection Act and constituting the illegal reception of evidence.
In his speech, Ales Bialiatski depicted the situation of growing authoritarianism in Belarus, where civil society, including human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists, work under the permanent threat of state sanction. As FIDH Vice President, he also highlighted the dire situation of human rights defenders regionally, pointing out that criminalisation of human rights defenders has become commonplace in the region : 8 members of FIDH’s member organisation in Uzbekistan are in prison on trumped up charges, whilst Russian human rights defenders are judicially harassed or killed. Bialiatski went on to give HRC Viasna’s history, underlining that it has always worked with transparency to help thousands of people.
Bialiatski concluded by publically announcing that the documents in his file confirmed that the case against him had been instigated and lead directly by the KGB. The KGB had met with tax and Prokuratura officials (including the Procurator who represented the accusation later at his trial) in November 2010 to discuss how Ales Bialiatski might be prosecuted, finally deciding to peruse prosecution under Article 243. This evidences the political character of Ales Bialiatski's prosecution – pre-planned to put an end to his human rights activities.
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