Well-known public figures address world leaders concerning unlawful imprisonment of Vaukavysk entrepreneurs

Well-known public and political activists of Belarus have addressed the world leaders with the request to foster the independent legal expertise of the criminal case that was brought against Mikalai Autukhovich, Yyry Liavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka. The text of the address was submitted to the heads of the EU countries, the EU president, the Swedish speaker Frederick Reifeldt, the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, the US president Barack Obama and the president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev.

‘Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Liavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka are well-known for their activism in the sphere of protection of entrepreneurs’ rights and revelation of facts of corruption in Hrodna oblast. Besides, the month before the arrest Autukhovich became one of the co-chairmen of the organizing committee of the independent movement of veterans of war in Afghanistan Defenders of Fatherland and also signed an open letter to the country’s government for the protection of the rights of veterans of the war in Afghanistan,’ reads the address.

The document also informs that on 8-10 June Martin Finke, well-known international expert in the sphere of criminal and criminal-process law, paid a visit to Belarus. He stated that the case against the abovementioned persons was investigated without violations and the apprehension of human rights activists about its political implications was groundless. However, the signers of the address think that his conclusion ‘caused some doubts in its exhaustiveness, because Fiske did not meet with representatives of the defense while preparing his report and, according to his own words, had access only to a part of the case materials.’

‘We address you with the request to foster organizing an independent international investigation into the criminal case against the entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk and uphold our call to holding an open trial. We also hope that we will join our demand to release Artsiom Dubski, member of international youth organization Young Front, declared a prisoner of conscience,’ write the authors of the address.

The documents is signed by 27 persons including the ex-candidate for president of Belarus Alexander Kazulin, the former head of the Supreme Soviet Stanislau Shushkevich, the leader of the Belarusian Popular Front Party Liavon Barshcheuski, the leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka, the ex-minister of the external economic relations of Belarus Mikhail Marynich and the former vice-minister of foreign affairs of Belarus Andrei Sannikau.