Prison Terms for Unregistered Civil Society Activities in Belarus

Illegal Criminal Code Article Should be Annulled

Minsk, Vienna, 2.November 2006.  The court of the October district of Minsk, headed by vice-chairman Ala Bulash, has sentenced youth activist and “Young Front” leader Dzmitry Dashkevich to 18 months in prison for violating art. 193-1 of the Criminal Code (organization of or participation in the activities of an unregistered association).

The hearing took place in a closed court room. Relatives, human rights defenders, journalists and diplomats were denied access to the proceedings without any reasons given. According to Dzmitry’s lawyers and human rights defenders, there were serious due process violations during the pre-trial proceedings.

The case of Dashkevich is yet another in a series of repressions against civil society in Belarus. In August 2006, activists of the organization “Partnerstva” (“Partnership”), including Eleanora Branickaya, Tsimafei Dranchuk, Aliaksandr Shalayka and Mikola Astreyka, were convicted to different terms of imprisonment under the above-mentioned article. At the same time the court explicitly stated that their activities didn’t violate the rights of citizens.

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) and the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) strongly protest against criminal persecution of public and political activists.

The very existence of the article 193-1 in the Criminal Code violates the Constitution of Belarus, which guarantees the freedom of association, as well as article 22 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and commitments to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It allows bringing criminal action against an unregistered organization even if its activities were not directed against state or public security and did not violate public order or the rights and freedoms of others.

The claim about the unconstitutionality of article 193-1 of the Criminal Code, brought by BHC to the Constitutional Court of Belarus, was left without consideration.

The BHC and IHF urge Belarusian authorities to act according to the international obligations accepted by Belarus within the framework of UN and OSCE, and annull article 193-1 of the Criminal Code.

These measures, as well as abolition of the Republican Commission on the registration (re-registration) of public associations, and activities directed at making the registration of primary structures of trade unions simple, could be indicative of liberalization of Belarusian practices in relation to civil society.

For further information:

Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Press Officer, Dzmitry Markusheuski, +375– 29 709 5702

IHF Executive Director, Aaron Rhodes, +43-(0)1-408 88 22 or +43-(676)-6356612