General Procuracy issues warnings to five candidates
The General Procuracy
issued official warnings to the presidential candidates Uladzimir Niakliayeu,
Yaraslau Ramanchuk, Vital Rymasheuski, Andrei Sannikau and Mikalai Statkevich
for calling the Belarusian citizens to come to Kastrychnitskaya Square on the Election
Day, 19 December.
It is already the second warning for Rymasheuski and Statkevich: they received
analogical warnings for the same time for the calls to take part in the
unauthorized street action in Kastrychnitskaya
Square in Minsk
on 24 November.
As stated to BelaPAN by the
press-secretary of Uladzimir Niakliayeu, Yuliya Rymasheuskaya, on 9 December he
received a telephone call from an officer of the procuracy, who said that a
criminal case would be brought against the candidate if he held an unauthorized
action on 19 December. Mr. Niakliayeu was also informed that the notice about
the official warning would be thrown into his postbox on 10 December.
’The regime started a predictable and long-awaited intimidation: with
imprisonment and with criminal responsibility. The regime hasn’t invented
anything new. Its demonstrative democracy will be decreasing more and more with
the approach of the election, when its fate would be decided. It is coming to
an end, and usual things take its place…’
A similar telephone call was received by Mikalai Statkevich. ‘I answered that
the main violation of the law is killing the opponents of the Belarusian
authorities, and the mass action on 19 December is the exercise of the
constitutional right to freedom of assembly, and in if the Procuracy is not
going to protect the constitutional norms, we will have to do it on our own,’
said Mr. Statkevich.
Yaraslau Ramanchuk received a telephone call from Pavel Radzivonau, the head of
the department of supervision over the observance of the law and the legality
of legal acts. He stated that the candidate was issued with a warning that
would be sent to his home address. Mr. Ramanchuk replied that coming to the
square is a part of his electoral campaign. ‘It will be a completely peaceful assembly.
We will come to listen to what the Chairperson of the Central Election
Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna would say about the results of the voting. I
don’t see anything unlawful in it, it’s done in all civilized countries of the
world,’ emphasized Mr. Ramanchuk.
Lidziya
Yarmoshyna, in her turn, said that the Central Election
Commission won’t consider these warnings. ‘We won’t do it. The warning pronounced by the
General Procuracy does not concern a violation of the Electoral Code. It’s a
violation of the law on mass actions, which is beyond our scope.’
Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections
