Belarusian human rights defenders start campaign on bailing out Mr. Bialiatski
The Belarusian Helsinki Committee
(BHC) has issued an appeal calling on sympathizers to apply for the release of
human rights defender Ales Bialiatski against their guarantee that he would not
flee from prosecution or obstruct the investigation or engage in criminal
activities.
Under the Criminal Procedure Code’s Article 121, two persons may stand surety
for a detainee, by pledging in writing that the person will comply with a
release agreement, BHC Chairman Aleh Hulak told BelaPAN.
The persons may be punished with a fine of between 3,500,000 and 17,500,000
rubles (between $700 and $3,500 at the National Bank`s exchange rate) for the
person’s failure to comply.
Mr. Hulak suggested that the applicants should mention in their applications
that Mr. Bialiatski is a famous person in his country and abroad and that there
are no valid grounds for assuming that he may flee from prosecution.
The applications should be sent to the Financial Investigations Department of
the State Control Committee, he said.
The 48-year-old Bialiatski, chairman of a human rights organization called Viasna and vice president of the
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), was arrested in Minsk on 4 August on
suspicion of large-scale tax evasion. He may be sentenced to up seven years in
prison.
