Belarus: New charges against the leadership of the Human Rights Center “Viasna”

The Observatory has been informed about new charges against the leadership of the Human Rights Center Viasna (Viasna). Messrs Ales Bialiatski, its Chairman; Valiantsin Stefanovich, Deputy Head of Viasna and Vice-President of FIDH and Uladzimir Labkovich, Viasna’s lawyer, have been arbitrarily detained since July 14, 2021 and face 12 years in prison under the new charges.

Viasna is one of the leading Belarusian human rights organisations and a recipient, along with its founder Ales Bialiatski, of numerous prestigious awards for its adamant stand for human rights and democracy including the Right Livelihood Award (2020), and “Justice for Democracy Advocates” Albie Award (2022), as well as the Nobel Peace Prize (2022) awarded to Mr Bialiatski.On September 28, 2022, the Main Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Corruption of Belarus (GUBOPiK) dropped the charge of “tax evasion” against Messrs Bialiatski, Stefanovich and Labkovich and subsequently charged them with “smuggling” and “financing group actions that disrupted public order” (Part 4 of Article 228, and Part 2 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code of Belarus, respectively). The three are accused of alleged “illegal movement of cash across the customs border of the Eurasian Economic Union in large amounts by an organised group” in relation to the same case for which they had been charged with “tax evasion”. The punishment under the new charges is harsher and the defenders now face up to 12 years in prison. At the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, they remained arbitrarily detained in a pretrial detention centre in Minsk. Mr. Bialiatski was being held in a semi-basement floor with poor access to light.The Observatory recalls that Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich and Uladzimir Labkovich were arbitrarily detained by officers of the Financial Investigations Department of Belarus on July 14, 2021. Since that date they remained detained on charges of “tax evasion” (Part 2 of Art. 243 of the Belarus Criminal Code) which carries a maximum sentence of seven years. The investigation into their case has been ongoing for over a year, which is contrary to Belarusian law and international standards. The three human rights defenders are kept in appalling detention conditions, their family and lawyers have been systematically denied access to them, and all post communications have been harshly censored by the authorities.The Observatory considers the lengthy investigations and the new fabricated charges to be an intentional tactic by Belarusian authorities to keep the three human rights defenders in inhumane conditions to fabricate evidence and to coerce them into confession.The Observatory further recalls that three other members of Viasna remain behind bars, including Ms Marfa Rabkova and Mr Andrei Chapyuk, who were sentenced to 15 and six years of imprisonment, respectively, on September 7, 2022, and Mr Leanid Sudalenka.Viasna volunteer Ms Tatsiana Lasitsa was released from Homieĺ correctional facility on presidential pardon on September 24, 2022, after spending one year and eight months in arbitrary detention. Ms Lasitsa was detained on January 21, 2021 and had been sentenced to two and a half years in prison under charges of “organisation of or active participation in group actions that grossly violate public order” (Part 1 and part 2 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code).

Human rights defender Ms Nasta Loika, who was arbitrarily arrested on September 6, 2022 at the Minsk City Court following Marfa Rabkova and Andrei Chapyuk’s verdict, was released on October 6, 2022, after having served her sentence of two times 15 days of administrative arrest for the trumped-up charges of “petty hooliganism”.The reprisals against Viasna and its members are part of a broader crackdown on civil society in Belarus. In 2021 alone, the authorities shut down more than 275 human rights and other independent organisations, leaving not one legally operating human rights NGO in the country. In addition, legislative amendments to the Criminal Code adopted in December 2021 re-introduced criminal liability for "acting on behalf of unregistered or liquidated organisations". The liquidation of all independent human rights organisations by the authorities has therefore led to a de facto criminalisation of human rights work. The rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, enshrined in international human rights instruments, including in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Belarus, have been severely and continuously violated by the authorities in recent years, which has had a chilling effect on civil society in the country.Viasna has long been at the forefront of the Belarusian human rights movement being notably famous for maintaining a list of political prisoners in Belarus, which as of October 7, 2022 counted 1348 persons.The Observatory strongly condemns the new trumped-up charges against Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich and Uladzimir Labkovich as well as their ongoing arbitrary detention, and expresses grave concern over the high risk of torture and ill-treatment they face while in custody.The Observatory urges the authorities to Belarus to immediately and unconditionally release them and Marfa Rabkova, Andrey Chapiuk and Leanid Sudalenka, and to put an end to all acts of harassment against them, including at the judicial level.