Ales Bialiatski proposes Minsk City Court to declare Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional

Ales Bialiatski, Chair of the Human Rights Center Viasna, expressed this proposal in the cassation appeal against the verdict of the Tsentralny District Court of Minsk of 20 June 2011, according to which the official warning issued to him by the General Procuracy of Belarus was left. in force.

A.Bialiatski states to the panel of judges on civil cases of Minsk City Court that he doesn't agree with such a decision and considers it as unlawful. He asks to abolish the verdict of the Tsentralny District Court in Minsk for the following reasons:

“Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus contains a list of restrictions on freedom of association. Thus, establishment and functioning of political parties and other public associations that aim to change the constitutional system or advocating war and social, ethnic, religious or racial hatred are prohibited in the Republic of Belarus. This list is complete and not subject to broad interpretation.

Permissible restrictions on freedom of association are also set out in Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Under this article of the Covenant, everyone has the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of common interests.

Use of this right is not subject to any restrictions except those which are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society to protect interests of national security or public safety, public order, health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

The warning that was issued to me by the General Procuracy doesn't contain any references to at least one of the permissible restrictions.”

A. Bialiatski points that the warning of the General Procuracy doesn't give a single argument as to why he has no right to carry out human rights work on behalf of the Human Rights Center Viasna and how such activities are detrimental to national security or public order, rights and freedoms of others. According to the human rights defender, representatives of the procuracy also failed to specify at least one of the above permissible restrictions on freedom of association at the trial.

It turns out that according to the warning Mr. Bialiatski is guilty of making comments and statements on various issues of social and political life of the country on behalf of the unregistered Human Rights Center Viasna.

“By this decision, the court ignored norms of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and gave no legal assessment of the warning in terms of Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. According to Article 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Belarus recognizes the priority of generally recognized principles of international law and ensures compliance with the law. Belarus has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its First Optional Protocol and voluntarily  took  the commitment to implement it.

According to Article 21 of the  Civil Process Code of the Republic of Belarus, the court shall consider the case on the basis of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and the legal acts that were adopted in line with it.

All of my human rights activities and the activities of the Human Rights Center Viasna on the whole is carried out in accordance with the Constitution and the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Declaration on Human Rights Defenders), resolution 53/144 of the United Nations of 9 December 1998

In this regard, I consider that a warning of liability for activities, as well as the very existence of such liability in the form of Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code (criminalization of unregistered public associations), contradicts to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and violates my constitutional rights." – stated the human rights activist.

The Chair of the Human Rights Center Viasna asks the civil cases panel of the Minsk City Court to raise the question of finding Article 193.1 unconstitutional. The court has such a right in accordance with Article 21, part 3 of the Civil Process Code of the Republic of Belarus: if the court makes conclusion about the non-constitutionality of a certain legal act while considering a certain case, it shall judge the case in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.