The statement on the recognition of 23 people as political prisoners

Statement by the human rights community of Belarus

December 19, 2024

We, representatives of the human rights community of Belarus, note that criminal liability for "incitement of hatred" under Article 130 of the Criminal Code has been selectively and discriminatorily applied by both the investigators and courts in an apparent attempt to protect the state bodies. Moreover, it seems unreasonable to label government officials, police officers, military personnel, etc., as separate social groups under protection in this context.

We insist that it is unacceptable to apply a law aimed to protect government officials, law enforcement officers, and judges from threats in connection with the lawful performance of their duties to punish those citizens who have spoken out in connection with the clear violation of the Constitution and law by state institutions, the involvement of government officials, prosecutors and judges in torture and in creating a climate of impunity for torture and other human rights violations, often showing signs of crimes against humanity.

According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law. All or part of the public may be excluded from a trial for reasons of morals, public order, or national security in a democratic society, or when the interest of the private lives of the parties so requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice. In the absence of such exceptional circumstances, the proceedings should be open to the general public, including representatives of the media, and should not, for example, be limited to a certain category of persons. Even in cases in which the public is excluded from the trial, the judgment, including the essential findings, evidence and legal reasoning must be made public. The court did not fulfill these requirements in the case of the persons mentioned, which could determine the attitude of human rights defenders to the hearing results.

We also reiterate our position expressed in the statement of the human rights community that it would be a violation of Paragraph 3 of Article 19 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to refer to treason laws and similar acts concerning national security, professional secrecy, or the fight against subversion, to withhold or conceal from the general public information of legitimate public interest and does not threaten national security, but also to prosecute journalists, researchers, environmentalists, human rights defenders, or others for disseminating such information.

We are aware of the conviction of:

Dzmitry Samsonau in a closed court hearing under Articles 375, 356, and 235 of the Criminal Code on charges of intentionally disclosing official secrets, treason against the state, and money laundering; he was sentenced to 19 years of imprisonment;

Yury Averkau in a closed court hearing under Articles 369, 130, and Part 3 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code on charges of educating or otherwise preparing persons to participate in mass riots, or financing this activity, insulting a representative of the authorities, inciting hatred or hostility; he was sentenced to imprisonment;

Viachaslau Barodzii in a closed court hearing under Articles 295, 371, 333-1, and 358-1 of the Criminal Code on charges of illegal actions related to firearms, ammunition, and explosives, illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Belarus, illegal movement of weapons, military equipment across the border, agent activities; he was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment;

Valiantsina Polaz in a closed court hearing under Articles 356 and 371-1 of the Criminal Code on charges of treason against the state and organizing illegal migration; she was sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment;

Mikalai Lasouski in a closed court hearing under Articles 356 and 371-1 of the Criminal Code on charges of treason against the state and organizing illegal migration; he was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment;

Artsiom Litsevich under Articles 361 and 342 of the Criminal Code on charges of calling for restrictive measures (sanctions), other actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus, organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order; he was sentenced to imprisonment;

Mikhail Herasimchuk under Article 130 of the Criminal Code on the charge of inciting other social hatred; he was sentenced to imprisonment;

Siarhei Tsikhanau under Articles 290-5, 361-1, and Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code on charges of treason against the state, participation in the activities of a terrorist organization and extremist formation; he was sentenced to imprisonment;

Mikalai Klok under Articles 356 and 216 of the Criminal Code on charges of treason against the state and causing property damage; he was sentenced to imprisonment;

Pavel Shorakhau under Article 130 of the Criminal Code on the charge of inciting other social hatred; he was sentenced to imprisonment;

Ihar Kuzauko under Articles 361, 367, 361-1, and 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of calling for sanctions, slandering Lukashenka, creating or participating in an extremist formation, and inciting social hatred.

The authorities unreasonably use detention in the absence of sufficient grounds for the use of the preventive measure, which restricts personal freedom: as the UN Human Rights Committee notes, "remand in custody on criminal charges must be reasonable and necessary in all the circumstances." “Detention in custody of persons awaiting trial shall be the exception rather than the rule. […] release from such custody may be subject to guarantees of appearance, including appearance for trial, appearance at any other stage of the judicial proceedings and (should occasion arise) appearance for execution of the judgment. This suggestion concerns persons awaiting trial on criminal charges, that is, after the indictment, but a similar requirement, covering the period before the indictment, follows from the prohibition of arbitrary arrest... It should not be the general practice to subject defendants to pretrial detention. Detention should be based on a case-by-case decision that it is justified and necessary, taking into account all the circumstances, for purposes such as preventing escape, interfering with the process of collecting evidence or recidivism of the crime... The relevant factors should be spelled out in the law and should not contain vague and broad standards such as "public danger"... Pre-trial detention should be applied not on the basis of a possible sentence, but on the basis of determining the need for this measure of restraint."

Thus, we are aware of the detention of:

Barys Pukhalski, Ivan Likhalat, Ivan Barodzich under Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 3 of Article 289, Part 1 of Article 356, and Article 358-1 of the Criminal Code on charges of attempted terrorism, treason, and espionage;

Siarhei Horlau under Articles 361-4, 130, 361, and 368 on charges of facilitating extremist activities, inciting other social hatred, calling for restrictive measures (sanctions), other actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus, and insulting A. Lukashenka;

Maret Valiuk under Article 357 of the Criminal Code on the charge of conspiracy or other acts committed to seize state power;

Sviatlana Yakubovich under Article 357 of the Criminal Code on the charge of conspiracy or other acts committed to seize state power;

Aliaksandr Kudrevich under Part 3 of Article 361-1 and Part 2 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code on charges of participating in an extremist formation and treason against the state;

Yuryis Hanins under Article 369-1, Part 2 of Article 367, Part 2 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code on charges of discrediting Belarus, calls for restrictive measures (sanctions), other actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus, and defamation of A. Lukashenka;

Maryna Myshko under Articles 342, 130, and 367 of the Criminal Code on charges of organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order or actively participate in them, inciting other social hatred, and slandering A. Lukashenka;

Andrei Slizevich under Articles 367, 368, and 130 of the Criminal Code on charges of defamation of A. Lukashenka and insulting him and inciting other social hatred;

Hanna Kurys under Articles 130, 368, 369-1, and 370 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting hatred, discrediting Belarus, insulting A. Lukashenka, and desecration of state symbols;

Aliaksandr Darahakupets under Articles 130, 361-2, 361-4, 361-1, and Part 2 of Article 361-3 of the Criminal Code on charges of inciting other social hatred, financing and facilitating extremist activities, financing Belarusian volunteers in the Ukrainian armed forces, and participating in the activities of an extremist group.

Having studied these criminal prosecution cases, we concluded that all of them are politically motivated.

According to the Guidelines on the Definition of Political Prisoners, a person deprived of liberty is to be regarded as a political prisoner, if at least one of the following criteria is observed:

• a) the detention has been imposed in violation of the right to a fair trial, other rights and freedoms guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;

• d) the person has been detained in a discriminatory manner as compared to other persons.

We, representatives of the Belarusian human rights community, declare that the further imprisonment of Dzmitry Samsonau, Yury Averkau, Viachaslau Barodzii, Valiantsina Polaz, Mikalai Lasouski, Artsiom Litsevich, Mikhail Herasimchuk, Siarhei Tsikhanau, Mikalai Klok, Pavel Shorakhau, Barys Pukhalski, Ivan Likhalat, Ivan Barodzich, Siarhei Horlau, Maret Valiuk, Sviatlana Yakubovich, Aliaksandr Kudrevich, Yuryis Hanins, Maryna Myshko, Andrei Slizevich, Hanna Kurys, Aliaksandr Darahakupets, Ihar Kuzauko is politically motivated, and they are political prisoners. We demand from the Belarusian authorities:

• review the sentences and preventive measures imposed on these political prisoners, while ensuring the right to a fair trial and eliminating the factors that affected the choice of punishment, the categorizing of actions, the type and severity of punishment;

• release the mentioned political prisoners by taking other measures to ensure their appearance in court;

• immediately release all political prisoners, review politically motivated sentences, and end political repression against citizens.

Human Rights Center Viasna;

Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

Legal initiative;

Belarusian Association of Journalists;

Belarusian PEN;

Human Constanta;

Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House;

Respect-Protect-Fulfill.