President Alexander Lukashenko Office of President of the Republic of Belarus Email: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 06 10 Alexander Vladimirovich Koniuk Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 42 52 Alexander Bileychik First Deputy Minister Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 200 96 84, +375 17 200 97 50 24 November 2011 Call for immediate release and rehabilitation of Ales Bialiatski We, the undersigned 64 human rights organizations, members and partners of the Human Rights House Network, resolutely condemn the court verdict to sentence Ales Bialiatski to 4,5 years imprisonment with confiscation of his property. We call upon the Belarusian authorities to immediately drop all charges against Ales Bialiatski and stop his criminal prosecution. On Thursday, 24 November 2011, the Minsk Pershamaiski District Court announced its verdict to sentence Ales Bialiatski to 4,5 years imprisonment with the confiscation of all his property, including property registered to other persons, on charges of tax evasion. Ales Bialiatski is the Chairperson of the Human Rights Centre “Viansa”, Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and one of the founders of the Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius. He is a well-known and internationally recognised human rights defender. On 4 August 2011, Ales Bialiatski was detained in Minsk on alleged suspicion of ‘concealment of income on an especially large scale’. His trial started on 2 November and was widely condemned by the international community. The case of Ales Bialiatski has received high-level attention and concerns in the international community. On 24 November 2011, Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice- President of the Commission, and Stefan Füle, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, deplored the harsh sentencing of Ales Bialiatski and considers it to be politically motivated. “It targets Ales Byalyatski and the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” for their Courageous support to victims of repression in Belarus. As suCh, it is a symbol of the ever intensifying CraCkdown on Civil soCiety in the Country sinCe the 19 December 2010 Presidential elections.” In a joint statement on 24 November 2011, three United Nations special rapporteurs warned that the new legislative amendments recently adopted by the National Assembly of Belarus may severely and arbitrarily restrict the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression, and breach international law. We believe that Ales Bialiatski is punished for his legitimate engagement in promoting and protecting human rights in Belarus. Proceedings against Ales Bialiatski constitute one more action by the Belarusian government against human rights defenders to try to silence voices that uphold Belarus’ human rights obligations. We consider Ales Bialiatski’s detention as arbitrary, call for his immediate and unconditional release, and for all charges held against him to be dropped. Belarusian Human Rights House in exile in Vilnius, Lithuania Human Rights House Baku (on behalf of the following NGOs): - Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) - Legal Education Society - Society for Humanitarian Research Human Rights House Oslo (on behalf of the following NGOs): - FoodFirst Information and Action Network (FIAN) - Health and Human Rights Info - Human Rights House Foundation - Norwegian Burma Committee - Norwegian Helsinki Committee - Voice of Tibet The Rafto Foundation (Norway) Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland) (on behalf of the following NGOs): - Grupa Horyzont - Komitet Helsiński - Stowarzyszenie Młodych Dziennikarzy "Polis" - Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka Human Rights House Sarajevo (on behalf of the following NGOs): - Association of Female Citizens "Renaissance" - Foundation CURE - Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Regional Co-ordinator for Youth Groups - Serb Civic Council - Movement for Equality - The Council of the Sarajevo Canton - Woman and Society Centre Human Rights House Tbilisi (on behalf of the following NGOs): - The Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT) - The Human Rights Centre (HRIDC) Russian Research Center for Human Rights (on behalf of the following NGOs): - Human Rights Network Group - Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia - Moscow Centre for Prison Reform - Moscow Helsinki Group - Mother's Right Foundation - Non-violence International - Right of the Child - Right to Live and have Civil Dignity - Social Partnership Foundation - Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia Human Rights House Zagreb (on behalf of the following NGOs): - APEO/UPIM – Association for Promotion of Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities - B.a.B.e. - CMS - Centre for Peace Studies - Documenta - Centre for Dealing with the Past - GOLJP - Civic Committee for Human Rights - Svitanje - Association for Protection and Promotion of Mental Health Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union NGO M’ART (Ukraine) Центр правовых и политических исследований "СІМ" (Ukraine) Vinnytsya Human Rights Group (Ukraine) Children's ecological public organization "Flora" (Ukraine) Public organization "Territory of success" (Ukraine) Crimean Human Rights Center "Action" (Ukraine) Information Center for Human Rights (Kyiv, Ukraine) Human Rights Centre "Postup", Lugansk, Ukraine The Krivoy Rog city Human Rights Society (Ukraine) All-Ukrainian Youth NGO "Foundation of Regional Initiatives" Foundation for Legal Technologies Development (Ukraine) Kherson regional charity and health Foundation (Ukraine) Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy, Ukraine Article 19 (United Kingdom) CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation (South Africa) Civil Rights Defenders (Sweden) Danish Institute for Human Rights (Denmark) Index on Censorship (United Kingdom) International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) (Belgium) Legal Transformation Center (Belarus) Östgruppen – the Swedish Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (Sweden) People in Need (Czech Republic) Copies have been sent to: • The Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the UN Office at Geneva • The Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg • The Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg • The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Geneva • The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Assembly and of Association, Geneva • The UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Geneva • The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE ODIHR), Warsaw • The Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Belarus • The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Brussels • The Council of the European Union, Brussels • The Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, Brussels • Diplomatic missions About the Human Rights House Network (www.humanrightshouse.org) The Human Rights House Network is a forum of cooperation between established and emerging Human Rights Houses, uniting 70 NGOs in 15 countries in Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and South Caucasus, East and Horn of Africa, and Western Europe. HRHN´s aim is to protect, strengthen and support human rights defenders and their organizations. The Human Rights House Foundation, based in Oslo (Norway) and Geneva (Switzerland), is the secretariat of the Human Rights House Network. .