Individuals convicted for threatening police officers recognized political prisoners

Joint statement of the Belarusian human rights community

25 April 2023

In view of several sentences handed down by the courts in criminal cases involving charges of using violence against police officers, resistance with violence, and threats of using violence against police officers and other officials performing their official duties (Articles 363, 364, 366 of the Criminal Code), to

Aliaksei Kamarouski, convicted under Article 364 of the Criminal Code (use of violence or threat thereof against an internal affairs officer), Article 365 of the Criminal Code (disrupting the work of an internal affairs officer) for attempting to escape violent policemen on 10 August 2020 by maneuvering in a vehicle, which was deemed a threat to an internal affairs officer, to four years of imprisonment;

Illia Shakirau, convicted under Article 364 of the Criminal Code for threatening the head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime to two years of imprisonment;

Barys Pratasau, convicted under Article 364 and part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code (active participation in acts gravely violating public order) for participating in a peaceful assembly and blocking a police vehicle during a peaceful demonstration, which was interpreted as a threat to use violence,

reaffirming our position, as set out in our joint statement on 16 January 2021, we note the following:

Peaceful assemblies should be protected by the state, and the police should not use force to disperse them, even if they violate applicable regulations. The forcible dispersal of assemblies and the use of physical force against demonstrators should be employed only as a last resort, in cases where the behavior of participants is violent and poses a real threat to national and public security, life and health of citizens.

Disproportionately harsh police actions aimed at dispersing peaceful assemblies cannot be considered a legitimate activity to protect and maintain public order, and in cases of violence against Ministry of Interior officials used in response to initial police violence, these actions must be considered based on the severity of the harm to health and the intent to cause such harm, as well as the defense against clearly unlawful acts of law enforcement officials, including those acting under an unlawful order (necessary defense, extreme necessity).

According to the Guidelines on the Definition of a Political Prisoner, violence in reverse provoked by the initial disproportionate use of physical force, police equipment, or weapons, provided that the actions of the accused were not intended to cause non-symbolic material damage or harm to anyone, does not prevent these individuals from being considered as political prisoners.

In addition, monitoring of these trials showed that the courts imposed disproportionately harsh (inadequate) sentences for the offense, compared to sentences imposed in the same categories of cases outside the political context.

The length or conditions of imprisonment imposed on participants in protest assemblies are clearly disproportionate (inadequate) to the offense for which they were convicted.

These circumstances suggest that the prosecution of the persons in question is politically motivated and they should be considered as political prisoners.

Therefore, based on paragraph 3.2 (a, b, c, d) of the Guidelines on the Definition of a Political Prisoner, we recognize Aliaksei Kamarouski, Illia Shakirau, and Barys Pratasau as political prisoners.

We demand the immediate review of the detention measures and court rulings taken against them in the exercise of the right to a fair trial and the elimination of the abovementioned issues, as well as their release from detention and the selection of other measures to ensure their appearance in court.

Viasna Human Rights Center;

Belarusian Association of Journalists;

Legal Initiative;

Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

Human Constanta;

Belarusian PEN;

Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House.