PACE Political Affairs Committee: investigation into the “mass disorders” raise serious concerns

The  Assembly  urged,  inter  alia,  the  Belarusian  authorities,  to  release
immediately all persons detained on political grounds, to stop the repression against political opponents, civil
society and independent media and to conduct a transparent investigation into the abusive use of force by
riot  police.  The  Assembly  also  asked  the  Belarusian  authorities  to  reform  the  electoral  law,  to  declare  a
moratorium on the death penalty and to reconsider their decision to close the OSCE Office in Minsk.
 
To date, none of the demands of the Assembly  have been met by the Belarusian authorities. Since
the January 2011 Resolution, the human rights situation has not improved in the country; on the contrary,
new concerns have arisen. Politically motivated trials led to sentences, including imprisonment for three to
four  years,  against  civic  activists  who  had  participated  in  the  protest  rally  of  19  December  2010.  Many
opposition activists, journalists and politicians will face trials shortly; some of them are detained in the KGB
remand prison or under house arrest.
 
The  circumstances  of  the  investigation  into  the  “mass  disorders”  raise  also  serious  concerns:  the
investigation  is  conducted  in  secret; there are allegations of torture  and inhuman treatment, of refusals to
provide proper legal and medical assistance, of impediments to communication between persons in custody,
on the one hand, and their families and lawyers, on the other. There are also allegations of administrative
pressure against lawyers of the persons accused of participation in, and organisation of, mass disorders.
 
It would seem that no investigation into police violence during the repression of the protest rally of 19
December has been conducted.
 
Repressions  against  the  civil  society  and  free  media  continue.  Numerous  civic  activists  have  been
interrogated;  their  homes  have  been  searched.  Human  rights  defenders  and  independent  media  have
received a number of official warnings from the Ministries of Justice and Information.

The full text of the Document can be found below.