Arbitrary detention and alleged police ill-treatment

During the period under review opposition groups staged a number of peaceful protests against President Lukashenka's refusal to hold elections scheduled for July, questioning the legitimacy of his tenure in office. The opposition staged a series of large-scale demonstrations in July and October, as well as numerous smaller protest actions, both in and outside Minsk, during which Amnesty International learned of hundreds of arrests. In a series of public statements Amnesty International condemned the arrests and considered any demonstrators detained for peacefully exercising their freedom of assembly as prisoners of conscience.
During the 'Freedom March' demonstration on 17 October a number of prominent members of the opposition were arrested by the Belarusian authorities. Leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Nikolai Statkevich, human rights activists and deputies of the dissolved parliament Loudmila Gryaznova and Valery Schukin, chairman of the human rights organization 'Spring-96' (Vesna-96) Ales Byalatsky, current deputy chairman of the dissolved parliament Anatoly Lebedko and chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front Vintsuk Vyachorka were among around 200 protestors detained by the authorities. Most of the aforementioned people were given administrative prison sentences of between 10 and 15 days or fined. Criminal charges were later brought against a number of them for their part in organizing and participating in the demonstration. Their cases are expected to come to trial in February 2000 and, if they are convicted, Amnesty International will consider them prisoners of conscience.
Seventeen-year-old Yevgeny Aphnagel, 17-year-old Andrei Volobev, 18-year-old Anton Lazarev and university students Gleb Dogel and German Sushkevich were among a number of young Belarusians who were arrested and given administrative sentences after the Freedom March demonstration. Yevgeny Aphnagel was reportedly acquitted of all criminal charges on 29 November after having spent 15 days in administrative detention and allegedly being beaten by police officers. Criminal charges of 'malicious hooliganism' under Article 201 (2) of the Belarusian Criminal Code have reportedly been brought against the other young protestors, whose trials are also expected to commence in February 2000. University students Gleb Dogel and German Sushkevich have alleged they were ill-treated by police officials after their arrests.
During a peaceful demonstration to mark Belarus' Day of Independence on 27 July, a 20-year-old member of the Belarusian Popular Party's Youth Front, Yevgeny Osinsky, was arrested and held on the charge of 'malicious hooliganism' and taking part in an unsanctioned demonstration (AI Index: EUR 49/24/99). He maintains he was ill-treated by police officers who reportedly hit him in the stomach, kidneys and back. He was released from prison on bail on 6 September after spending around five weeks in detention. On 18 January 2000 a court ruled that Yevgeny Osinsky, who works as an electrician, must pay 20 percent of his wages for a period of two years as a form of 'corrective labour' for allegedly resisting arrest. The charges originally brought against him were dropped.

Possible "disappearances"

Amnesty International expressed serious concern for the safety of prominent opposition leader and former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience Viktor Gonchar and his companion Anatoly Krasovsky, who failed to return home on 16 September. Viktor Gonchar, head of the unofficial electoral committee and first deputy chairman of the dissolved parliament, and his companion Anatoly Krasovsky apparently ''disappeared'' three days before Viktor Gonchar was due to give an extensive report about the political situation in Belarus under President Lukashenka to members of the dissolved parliament. In May another prominent member of the opposition and former Minister of the Interior, Yury Zakharenko, also apparently "disappeared" on the first day of the campaigns of the unofficial presidential elections (AI Index: EUR 01/02/99).
These possible "disappearances" occurred at key political moments and the Belarusian authorities have shown great reluctance to investigate the cases. Instead, they have accused Belarus' opposition of staging the "disappearances" for the purposes of seeking international attention or have stated that the individuals concerned have been sighted abroad. Since they went missing there has been no reliable information about the whereabouts of the three men.

Prisoners of conscience

In March the former Prime Minister, Mikhail Chigir, was imprisoned for his opposition activities. He had intended to stand as a presidential candidate in the unofficial presidential elections scheduled for May (AI Index: EUR 01/02/99). His arrest caused a great deal of concern in the international community and there were numerous calls for his release. He was charged with financial impropriety relating to a position he held as head of a bank, a charge which he denied. After eight months' imprisonment he was conditionally released at the end of November and his case is currently being heard by a court in Minsk. Amnesty International fears he may not receive a fair trial.
Other members of the opposition remain imprisoned for their non-violent political beliefs, including members of the dissolved parliament Andrei Klimov and Vladimir Koudinov (AI Index: EUR 01/02/99). The case of Andrei Klimov, who has been in pre-trial detention since February 1998 charged with financial impropriety, eventually came to court in July and continued throughout the year. On 13 December Andrei Klimov was reportedly beaten and kicked by prison officials and dragged into a Minsk courtroom in torn clothes and without shoes. The ill-treatment allegedly occurred after Andrey Klimov refused to leave his prison cell and go to court, protesting he has not received a fair trial. It is anticipated that the court will reach a verdict early in the year 2000.
Amnesty International learned of the release of 73-year-old Vasily Starovoitov on 11 November after spending two years in prison convicted of bribery and large-scale embezzlement in May1999 (AI Index: 01/01/99). Amnesty International believes that the charges were politically motivated and designed to silence an opponent of President Lukashenka.

Possible prisoners of conscience

Amnesty International expressed concern about the arrest of the Rector of Gomel Medical Institute, Professor Yury Bandazhevsky, in July, fearing he may have been deliberately targeted by the authorities for exercising his right to freedom of expression, and considered him a possible prisoner of conscience (AI Index: EUR 49/27/99). He has openly criticized the way in which the Ministry of Health has conducted research into the adverse health effects of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 1986 and the money it has spent on such research.
Yury Bandazhevsky was arrested in Gomel in the middle of the night of 13 July by a police detachment. In violation of international human rights standards, the authorities did not formally charge him until 5 August. The circumstances surrounding Yury Bandazhevsky's arrest have caused further concern, since he was not given access to a lawyer or allowed to see his family until three weeks after his arrest. After the lawyer obtained permission to visit his client in Gomel, Yury Bandazhevsky was transferred to a prison some 100 miles away in Mogilev without the lawyer's knowledge. On 27 December he was released on the condition he does not leave Minsk and is awaiting trial on charges of allegedly taking bribes from students seeking admission to his research institute. If he is convicted, he faces between five and 15 years' imprisonment and confiscation of his property. Amnesty International fears that like Mikhail Chigir and Andrei Klimov he may not receive a fair trial.

Persecution of human rights defenders

Several prominent human rights defenders and human rights organizations came under increased pressure in 1999 to cease their human rights work. The Minsk offices of the human rights organization 'Spring-96' were raided on 4 October by the police. Police officers confiscated computers, a printer and photocopier and copies of their human rights journal Right to Freedom on the pretext that the organization did not possess the necessary documentation to print on the premises. The Belarusian Helsinki Committee was also subjected to continued harassment by the authorities. In December they were threatened with eviction from their offices, which are owned by the Presidential Business Administration.
In July Oleg Volchek, the head of the legal advice centre Legal Aid to the Population and head of a non-governmental committee which has demanded an independent investigation into the possible ''disappearance'' of Yury Zakharenko, was charged under Article 201 (2) of the Belarusian Criminal Code with ''malicious hooliganism'' (AI Index: EUR 49/24/99). The charges related to his participation in a peaceful protest organized by the opposition on 21 July, during which he was arrested and ill-treated by police officers. Amnesty International expressed concern that he had been deliberately targeted by the Belarusian authorities to punish him for his opposition activities and to silence a vocal member of the opposition. The organization learned that the charges against him were dropped in late November. However, on 8 November the Ministry of Justice reportedly revoked the license of the Legal Aid to the Population advice centre, which permitted it to give legal advice to the general public.
Amnesty International learned that charges against the human rights lawyer Vera Stremkovskaya, under Article 128 (2) of the Belarusian Criminal Code for allegedly slandering a public official, were also dropped at the end of December (AI Index: EUR 01/02/99). The charges carried up to five years' imprisonment and Amnesty International informed the Belarusian authorities that if she were imprisoned it would consider Vera Stremkovskaya a prisoner of conscience.

Harassment of journalists and the independent press

Several prominent independent newspapers critical of the government had their registered status revoked. In other instances, independent newspapers were closed down for alleged tax violations or after losing expensive libel cases for criticizing senior government figures. The independent newspapers, Narodnaya Volya, Naviny, Imya and Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta came under particular pressure. The harassment of the independent press aroused significant criticism abroad.
In July Irina Halip, editor of the independent newspaper Imya, was arrested at the Belarusian headquarters of the Russian television station, ORT, where she had been scheduled to give an interview (AI Index: EUR 49/24/99). She was arrested on the charge that Imya had slandered the Belarusian Prosecutor General, Oleg Bozhelko, in a previous article. Irina Halip also had her travel documents confiscated by the authorities after her arrest. She was due to fly to the United States to attend meetings with fellow journalists two days later. In a press release on 23 July Amnesty International expressed the concern that the confiscation of her travel documents was part of the government's crack-down on peaceful dissent and to prevent her from talking about the political situation in the country (AI Index: EUR 49/18/99). Amnesty International learned several days later that the Belarusian authorities had eventually allowed her to visit the United States as she had originally planned. Although she was interviewed by the authorities on several occasions after her release she had not been formally charged by the end of the year.

Death penalty

The death penalty continued to be imposed frequently. In August the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Belarus, Valyantsin Sukala, told a news conference that 29 people had been executed in the first seven months of 1999. There was continued concern about the veil of secrecy surrounding the death penalty, about which information is classed as a state secret. Even after a prisoner has been executed the relatives are not informed of the date or place of execution.
In July the mother of Anton Bondarenko, who was under sentence of death and whose appeal had failed, stated that the prison authorities refused to inform her of the exact date when her son would be executed. She had visited the prison where her son was being held every day for several weeks to see if he was still alive. On 14 July she and a friend staged a picket near the Presidential Administration building to plead for Anton Bondarenko's sentence to be commuted. She was arrested by police officers and detained for three hours. Her son was executed 10 days later on 24 July.