Ministry of Justice continues pressurization of lawyers
On 2 September Aliaksandr Pylchanka, Chair of the Minsk City Bar, made an
application for the termination of his powers after the Ministry of Justice
issued the proposal for the long-term revocation of the lawyer from this
position. The discussion of this proposal and the lawyer’s application will
take place at the general assembly of the Minsk City Bar on 24 September. It’s
worth mentioning that it is not the first time the Ministry of Justice tries to
pressurize the head of the Bar.
For instance, on 18 February 2011 Aliaksandr Pylshanka was expelled from the
Qualification commission on issues of lawyers’ activities. It was this
commission that took the decision to deprive lawyers involved in the criminal
proceedings concerning the events of 19 December 2010 in Minsk, of their professional licenses, but
Aliaksandr Pylchanka never attended such sittings of the commission.
Mr. Pylchanka was expelled from the commission the day he gave an interview to
the BelaPAN. “The administration of the Minsk City Bar considers the present
situation as critical and really threatening to the independence of the bar as
an institution and the individual independence of lawyers”, said Pylchanka in
the interview. He also added that on 17 February there was held an extended sitting
of the Presidium of the Minsk City Bar with the participation of the heads of
legal advice offices, at which the proposal to annul the professional licenses
to four lawyer involved in the criminal proceedings concerning 19 December
events, Aleh Aheyeu, Tatsiana Aheyeva, Tamara Harayeva and Uladzimir Toustsik,
was discussed, and that the Minsk City Bar decided to hold an extraordinary
sitting in connection with the pressurization of lawyers and invite all
interested persons to it. However, on 25 the Presidium of the Bar refused from
this idea.
Bear in mind that earlier licenses were terminated to lawyers U.
Toustsik and T. Harayeva who defended I. Khalip, lawyer A. Aheyeu, who defended
A. Mikhalevich, lawyers Z. Zaleuskaya and T. Aheyeva, and lawyer Tamara
Sidarenka, who defended the candidate for presidency in Belarus Uladzimir
Niakliayeu, and another presidential candidate, Aliaksei Mikhalevich, after his
first lawyer, A. Aheyeu, was deprived of license.
Lawyer P. Sapelka who defended candidate for presidency A. Sannikau was
excluded from the Minsk City Bar Association on the proposal of the Ministry of
Justice of the Republic
of Belarus.
Three of the lawyers (P Sapelka, T. Aheyeva and A.Aheyeu) were members of the
Presidium of the Minsk City Bar, organ of lawyers’ self-government).
Some other lawyers who defended figurants of the “19 December mass riot” case
weren’t attested by extraordinary attestation commissions: D. Lipkina who
defended M. Likhavid, A. Bakhtsina (defended I. Khalip), A. Burak (defended A.
Klaskouski and A. Liabedzka). These lawyers insisted on the complete acquittal
of their clients. The qualification commission didn’t take any decisions
concerning the termination of their licenses.
