Lukashenka's bill: humanism or more persecution? Lawyer Pavel Sapelka comments

Women and men raising minor children will not be deprived of their liberty

An important progressive innovation is expected in the Criminal Code: in accordance with the bill, women and single men raising children under the age of fourteen or children with disabilities, people with disabilities of group I, who for the first time committed a crime that does not pose a great public danger, or a less serious crime that does not involve the use of violence or the threat of it, will not be imprisoned.

The exception will be cases of probation or suspended sentence. However, the discriminatory nature of the norm is obvious: it will also not be applied to "persons who have committed crimes of an extremist nature", that is, all the dissidents and political opponents of the regime.

Death penalty and pardon: change of Article 59 of the Criminal Code

It is proposed to remove from Article 59 of the Criminal Code, which regulates the use of the death penalty, the norm limiting the replacement of this punishment by pardon to only one type of punishment, life imprisonment. This seriously expands the powers of the president to interfere in the nature of court sentences in criminal cases.

Punishment for threats or violence against a former president 

"Violence or threat against the President of the Republic of Belarus, the President of the Republic of Belarus who has terminated the exercise of his powers" (Article 366-1 of the Criminal Code) is now a separate crime, stipulated in a Special part of the bill.

Criminal liability for defamation and insult against a former president and members of their family

According to Articles 367 and 368 of the Criminal Code, it is planned to punish not only for slandering the president and insulting him, but also for the same actions against the president of the Republic of Belarus "who terminated his powers due to the expiration of his term in office or prematurely in case of his resignation or persistent inability for health reasons to carry out the duties of the President of the Republic Belarus, his family members."

With the president who terminated his powers everything is more or less clear, although this norm may remain without application for a long time. But the question who the members of the president's family are is more complicated. In accordance with the Criminal Code, family members are close relatives (parents, children, adoptive parents, adopted children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, husband (wife) of the victim(s), or the same relatives of the husband (wife) of the victim(s), other relatives, disabled dependents and other persons living together and running a household together with the victim(s).

In accordance with the law On the President of the Republic of Belarus, the family members of the president are understood to be parents, husband (wife), children, including adult ones. This is a more specific group of people, but this definition is applied precisely for the purposes of the specified law and may not extend to the application of criminal law. Therefore, it may happen that under the new law people will be punished not only for statements against A. Lukashenka, his three sons and his wife, but also others.

Up to six years of imprisonment for "spreading information about the deployment or movement of military equipment"

It is planned to supplement the Criminal Code with Article 375-3, which stipulates responsibility for the dissemination of "information on the deployment or movement of military units, weapons, military equipment and ammunition of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, other troops and military formations of the Republic of Belarus on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, if such information was not officially distributed, committed during a counter-terrorism operation, emergency, or martial law" in the absence of signs of more serious crimes. The punishment is a fine, arrest, restriction of liberty for up to three years, or imprisonment for the same period. Increased responsibility will follow the commission of these actions by a group of persons by prior agreement, or driven by self-interest, or actions that entailed grave consequences. In this case, the punishment may be restriction of liberty for up to five years or imprisonment for up to six years.

It is too early to predict how the article will be applied, since it will depend on how intensively the authorities will use the opportunity to introduce the state of counter-terrorism operation, emergency, or martial law. Now these are infrequent cases.