News on the topic: criminal prosecution
06.01.2010 Case of political prisoners Autukhovich and Asipenka taken to Supreme Court
The case was taken to court on 30 December, the date of the trial is unknown. BelaPAN learnt this from Autukhovich’s lawyer Pavel Sapelka and Asipenka’s lawyer Tamara Sidarenka.
06.01.2010 Ivianets: criminal case brought against Union of Poles activist
Police initiated a criminal case against the head of the Polish House in Ivyanets, Teresa Sobal. At the moment Teresa Sobal is a suspect: a criminal case has been initiated against the activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus which is not recognized by the authorities, under Article 210 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Belarus, Radio Racyja informs.
05.01.2010 Autukhovich’s motion for dropping the criminal case dismissed
The motion of Mikalai Autukhovich, an entrepreneur from Vaukavysk, to close the criminal case against him has been denied. BelaPAN was informed about that by Pavel Sapelka, Autukhovich’s lawyer.
15.12.2009 Minsk court reversed verdict to Andrei Bandarenka
The College Board of Minsk city court reversed the verdict of the Pershamaiski district court concerning the case of Andrei Bandarenka. The reason is that not all of the case materials have been examined and the court showed a tendentious approach during the trial. The case was returned to the Pershamaiski district court for the second trial. Bandarenka’s lawyer Zmitser Layeuski does not rule out that the trial can take place in January.
15.12.2009 Pavel Sapelka: ‘Under the law Autukhovich was to have been released long ago’
The lawyer of the political prisoner Mikalai Autukhovich believes that the Belarusian authorities have no grounds to keep Vaukavysk entrepreneur behind the bars.
08.12.2009 BCD activist Yury Kazak faces criminal charges
On 7 December in Navahradak the activist of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party Yury Kazak was given official charges under Article 339, part 1 of the Criminal Code – hooliganism. The reason for it was his detention on 7 November, the day of October Revolution, when somebody smeared the local monument to Lenin with green paint.
02.12.2009 Revocation of Article 193-1 still open-ended
Article 193-1 of the Criminal Code may be decriminalized in the near future, says Mr. Huminski, head of the Standing Commission for National Security of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, in reply to a complaint by Brest human rights lawyer Uladzimir Malei.
26.11.2009 Liudmila Asipenka: ‘Let us hope the charges brought against my father are a mistake’
As we have reported before, on 25 November the Vaukavysk businessman and political prisoner Uladzimer Asipenka, was charged with terrorist act preparation. The case will be filed to one of the country’s prosecutor’s offices, after the accused and his legal advisors study the materials of the case.
25.11.2009 Uladzimer Asipenka charged with terrorist act preparation
According to human rights activist Aleh Vouchak, Vaukavysk businessman Uladzimer Asipenka has been charged with the preparation of an act of terrorism, following similar charges brought against Mikalai Autukhovich a few days earlier.
12.11.2009 Amnesty International declares Belarusian citizen Ihar Koktysh prisoner of conscience
The human rights organization Amnesty International considers Ihar Koktysh, who is kept in a detention center in Simferopol waiting for the extradition to Belarus, to be a prisoner of conscience.
12.11.2009 Criminal case for spilling paint on monument to Lenin
On 7 November, the Day of October Revolution, which is still a state holiday in Belarus, Lenin monument in Navahradak was smeared with green paint.
09.11.2009 Investigation of ‘Vaukavysk case’ extended again
The investigation of the criminal case of entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk Mikalai Autukhovich and Uladzimir Asipenka has been extended till 8 December.
06.11.2009 Hunger-striker Bandarenka placed to prison hospital
The businessman Andrei Bandarenka started his hunger-strike on 19 October. He protests against the verdict issued by the Pershamaiski district court of Minsk.
05.11.2009 Innocent man spend 14 months in jail because of ‘judicial negligence’
The state has to pay a compensation to Leanid Tarasenka who was sentenced to five years of jail being innocent. In addition, at present the prosecutor’s office can start legal proceedings against the policeman who had brought the criminal case against the victim.
22.10.2009 Viasna presents analytical survey on political prisoners
On 21 October the Belarusian Popular Front office in Minsk hosted the presentation of a book ‘Political Prisoners: politically-motivated criminal sentences in 2008’, compiled with assistance by the Human Rights Center Viasna. The edition covers the events of 2008, pertaining to the existence of political prisoners, which still attract much public attention. The book is meant to highlight the facts of numerous and continuous politically-motivated harassment, practiced by the Belarusian authorities despite demands by international democratic structures. Meanwhile, the release of all the Belarusian political prisoners remains one of the basic conditions within the EU-Belarus dialogue.
