Belarus: A system that allows human rights violations at any given time Following the latest crackdown on peaceful protests, the European Union must increase international monitoring and ensure strong human rights conditionality in its relations with Belarus This April 2017 briefing note on Belarus was prepared by Human Rights House Foundation with the support of the Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House. Quick facts about Belarus The human rights situation in Belarus has been outside the spotlight of the international community since August 2015, when President Lukashenko pardoned the six remaining political prisoners. The EU praised this move by suspending sanctions levied against 170 persons and three entities in Belarus. The EU decided not to renew most sanctions in February 2016, despite Belarus not heeding the EU’s calls for the civil and political rights of former political prisoners to be restored. In the meantime, relations between the EU and • Founding member of the UN and party to all of its Belarus have sensibly improved in a number of fields, main human rights treaties notably because of the role of Belarus in hosting • Only European State not a member of the Council of negotiations to solve the crisis in Ukraine. Over the Europe and not party to the European human rights past year and a half, the overall scale of repressions system declined although no systemic changes have occurred • Only European State still using the death penalty within to improve the human rights situation. its ordinary criminal law • State governed by presidential decrees, which can overwrite any constitutional or legislative principle A year later – in April 2017 – Belarus is back under • Although all political prisoners were released, including the spotlight as the authorities brutally crack down on human rights defender Ales Bialiatski, they were not peaceful protesters, observers, journalists and human rehabilitated rights defenders. A wave of peaceful demonstrations • Legislation criminalising activities on behalf of has triggered the authorities’ repression and shown unregistered organisations, including activities directed that nothing has changed in Belarus. The so-called at promoting human rights, remains in place. This renders NGO activists at the mercy of the arbitrariness progress on human rights has not happened. The of the authorities, including arrest at any given time international community must acknowledge this, • President Alexander Lukashenko has governed the renew its attention on Belarus, and engage strongly in country for almost a generation, having been first supporting civil society. elected on 23 June 1994 • The 1994 presidential election is considered the Now more than ever, it is essential that the EU fully country’s only free and fair national election. Every engages to achieve concrete improvements in the election since has been marred by irregularities, human rights violations, and repressions in the lead-up and human rights situation in the country and further aftermath supports the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur • The 11 October 2015 presidential election and the 11 on Belarus. Setting benchmarks is the only way to September 2016 parliamentary election were not ensure reforms that protect fundamental freedoms. marked by violence, unlike previous ones. However, Without such benchmarks, the EU will continue to be the elections were not conducted in accordance with played by the so-called liberalisation or, in other international standards. • About 1000 people have been subjected to various words, President Lukashenko’s window-dressing. forms of repression in connection with the so-called law on “social parasites”. More than 200 of them were arrested, including human rights defenders and journalists. 1 A new crackdown on peaceful protests The events of February/March 2017 show the true face of repression in Belarus On 25–26 March, the Belarusian authorities arrested and in some cases violently attacked peaceful protestors, in Minsk and across the country. More than 700 people were arrested, and around 100 people were held overnight, many of whom then faced administrative charges in the courts. This came after the arrest of 300 people in connection with protests from 3–24 March. Since February, numerous demonstrations have taken place protesting against the application of Presidential Decree #3 (On Prevention of Social Parasitism) and the overall economic policy pursued in Belarus. The authorities responded with repressions against independent journalists, human rights defenders, representatives of the political opposition, civil society activists, bloggers and ordinary people. About 1,000 people were subjected to various forms of repression; more than 200 of them were arrested, including human rights defenders and journalists. In an effort to combat what the President has referred to as “social parasitism,” the law targets and imposes a tax of around EUR 235 on Belarusians who have worked less than half of the year and who have not registered at the country’s labour offices. The situation remained tense despite the announcement of the President that the application of the law would be suspended for one year in order for it to be “corrected.” The President promised a tough reaction against “organisers of dissent” and instructed his interior minister to ensure “perfect order” is established in the country.1 UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus, Miklós Haraszti, described the decree as “an arbitrary and cruel measure,” which is estimated to affect more than 470,000 Belarusians: “These people are not only singled out and stamped as ‘society’s parasites,’ but they are subjected to substantial fines amounting to the equivalent of EUR 235, or about two thirds of the average monthly wage in Belarus.”2 The so-called law on “social parasite” will be addressed by the Special Rapporteur in his report to the Human Rights Council in June 2017. The peak of the crackdown against protestors coincided with the celebrations of Freedom Day, an unofficial holiday that commemorates the creation of the Belarusian People’s Republic (BPR) on 25 March 1918.3 Arrests of protestors were preceded by preventative detentions to stop reporting and monitoring. Police raided the offices of human rights organisation Viasna, detaining 57 people. These included local and international observers and representatives of foreign media and human rights organisations. While all 57 people were released later that day, one of the detainees, Aliaksei Loika, was taken to hospital after he was beaten by riot police during the raid.4 On March 21-22, the country’s security services detained numerous citizens in the framework of a criminal case on charges of preparing for mass riots (Part 3 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code). All the detainees were taken into custody and placed in a KGB pre-trial prison and a detention centre. On March 23, a KGB spokesperson said that 26 people had been detained in the case, while more detentions were possible in the near future. These actions of representatives of law enforcement agencies were accompanied by gross violations of the detainees’ rights, in particular the unjustified use of physical force. Of particular concern are reports of lawyers being prohibited from visiting the detainees, violating the Constitutional right to defence. The large-scale repression was accompanied by a propaganda campaign in state-controlled media, aimed at whipping up hysteria and an atmosphere of fear in the society.5 1 Belarus detains dozens amid “social parasite” protests, available at http://humanrightshouse.org/Articles/22309.html. 2 Press release of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, 14 March 2017, available at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21375&LangID=E 3 Belarus: Prominent human rights defender detained as protests continue, available at http://humanrightshouse.org/Articles/22347.html. 4 True face of Belarus: Systematic repression, available at http://humanrightshouse.org/Articles/22363.html. 5 Stop whipping up hysteria and atmosphere of fear in the Belarusian society, available at 2 More than 30 individuals were detained on suspicion of committing a crime under Art. 293, part 3, of the Criminal Code (training or other education of persons for further participation in mass riots, as well as financing or other material support of such activities). At the moment, 18 of them have been accused of such an offense. Human rights defenders view the case as politically motivated. Within Belarus’ system of repression, a crackdown could be expected Highly restrictive legislation remains in place in Belarus, allowing the authorities to, at any given time, arrest dissenting voices, human rights defenders, journalists, activists, or anybody else. The arbitrariness of the system has not been modified, and the authorities were ready to crack down on the population knowing that nothing and nobody could stop them. In his latest statement, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus noted that “[the events of 25-26 March] prove the pre-meditated character of the repressive measures, and show an open return by the Government to its old policy of mass repression against citizens who exercise or dispense defence for human rights provided by the constitution and international treaties.”6 The statement was endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, the