PUBLIC APPEAL

Belarus

End the Silencing of Human Rights Defenders

The case of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee

In the course of their work human rights defenders in Belarus face a deliberate campaign on the part of the Belarusian authorities to frustrate and undermine their activities, aimed at silencing them. In 2003 and the beginning of 2004 a disturbing number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), directly and indirectly engaged in the promotion and defence of human rights in Belarus, have been closed by a judiciary whose independence has been repeatedly called into question by the international community (see Belarus: stifling the promotion of human rights, AI Index: EUR 49/004/2004).

On 21 June 2004 the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on human rights defenders, Hina Jilani, issued a statement about her serious concern at the reported curtailment of the freedom of association in Belarus. She expressed “particular alarm with regard to the situation of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), reportedly the last nationally operating human rights NGO, which is threatened with closure”. One of the last remaining officially registered human rights organizations in Belarus is BHC. The organization is active on a range of national human rights issues, including the determination of the fate of leading “disappeared” opposition politicians, including Viktor Gonchar.

On the evening of 16 September 1999 prominent opposition leader Viktor Gonchar Adisappeared@with his companion, Anatoly Krasovsky, after visiting a sauna in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. At the time of his Adisappearance@Viktor Gonchar was the Deputy Speaker of the dissolved Belarusian parliament and a major political opponent of the Belarusian President, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Earlier in 1999, Amnesty International considered him to be a prisoner of conscience after he was sentenced to 10 days=imprisonment for his peaceful opposition activities (see AI Index: EUR 01/02/99).

In the five years since their "disappearances" relatively little progress has been made in establishing the fate or whereabouts of the two men. This has resulted in considerable international criticism, from a range of international bodies, most notably the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

*Zinaida Gonchar on the second anniversary of her husband’s “disappearance”, Minsk, 17 September 2001 ©IREX/ProMedia

In January 2004 the tax inspection office of the Minsk Moskovskaia District accused BHC of using a grant provided by the EU TACIS¹program without registering the foreign humanitarian aid and not paying taxes in accordance with national legislation. A 1994 memorandum between the Belarusian authorities and the European Union grants tax exemption to this program. In June 2004 BHC was cleared of all charges for tax evasion by the Minsk Economic Court, a decision which was upheld by the Appellate Court at the end of July 2004. The court decision confirmed that the organization’s activities were lawful and complied with all procedures as required by the Belarusian authorities.

Despite this court decision a criminal investigation into the alleged tax evasion is ongoing against the chair of BHC, Tatiana Protsko, and BHC’s head accountant, Tatiana Rutkevich. If convicted, they could face a sentence of up to seven years’ imprisonment. As part of the criminal investigation an additional audit of the BHC’s activities was announced, to be coordinated by the Ministry for Taxes and Collections, which will involve the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus. The BHC interprets these actions by the Belarusian authorities as deliberate steps aimed at curtailing its legitimate human rights work.

Amnesty International is concerned that the closure and pressure on NGOs and their members, referred to above, are in violation of international human rights law and standards. The rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly are enshrined in Articles 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Belarus is a state party. These rights are also enshrined in the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, otherwise known as the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Urgent action is needed. Please write appeals calling on the Belarusian authorities to:

• stop the deliberate pattern of obstruction, harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders, by closures, and threats thereof, of several NGOs, including Legal Assistance to the Population, Spring-96 and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, directly and indirectly engaged in the promotion and defence of human rights in Belarus;

• adhere to the principles of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, 9 December 1998);

• ensure that the fate and whereabouts of Viktor Gonchar and Anatoly Krasovsky are established and those responsible for their “disappearance” are brought to justice.

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign to prevent and end grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote respect for all human rights. For more information see: http://www.amnesty.org

Please write appeals to:

1) President of the Republic of Belarus

Alyaksandr G. LUKASHENKA

Karl Marx Str. 38 or send a letter directly from his web-site:

220016 g. Minsk www.president.gov.by/eng/president/mail.shtml

Belarus

Fax: +375 (172) 26 06 10 or +375 (172) 22 38 72

E-mail: pres@president.gov.by