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is unclear to what extent it was implemented. Those convicted of alleged "economic crimes," for example, reportedly were granted amnesty and released from prison only after payment of financial restitution. |
Male and female prisoners are housed separately. Following an inspection of a correctional facility for women in Gomel on June 22, Minister of Internal Affairs Yury Sivakov noted in an |
interview with the official press that, although it was intended to house only 1,350 inmates, it currently held 2,800. He commented "here women are not serving time but are suffering, |
and correctional facility Number 4 is our headache." Human rights monitors sometimes were granted access to observe prison conditions, although the Government did not honor some requests to meet with |
individual prisoners. OSCE AMG officers, for example, were permitted to visit former Minister of Agriculture Leonov and State Farm Director Staravoitov (see Section 1.d.) on August 13 and 24, respectively. |
However, an official AMG request to visit Viktor Gonchar, who was detained on March 1 for 10 days on charges related to his involvement in an opposition presidential initiative, was |
not granted (see Section 1.b.). The AMG was not given access to Gonchar despite an appeal by the OSCE that he be released and reports that Gonchar was on a |
potentially health-threatening nonliquid hunger strike (see Section 2.b.). Despite his weakened condition, government security officials released Gonchar upon completion of his sentence by dumping him from a car into a |
pile of snow near his home. Gonchar subsequently disappeared in September. (see Section 1.b.) d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile The Government has amended only slightly its Soviet-era law on |
detention, and during the year, security forces continued to arrest arbitrarily and detain citizens, most often in connection with demonstrations, some of which were not authorized. There continued to be |
politically motivated arrests, although most of those arrested soon were released. The Criminal Procedure Code provides that police may detain a person suspected of a crime for 24 hours without |
a warrant, within which time the procurator is notified. The procurator then has 48 hours to review the legality of the detention. If the procurator deems the detention legal, a |
suspect can be held for a maximum of l0 days without formal charge. However, usually once the decision is made to hold a suspect, a formal charge is made. Once |
a suspect is charged, a trial must be initiated within 2 months, although in some cases the Procurator General can extend pretrial detention to 18 months to allow for further |
investigation. Alternatively, a suspect who has been charged can be released on a written pledge not to flee, in which case there is no time limit on the pretrial investigation. |
The law allows detainees the right to apply to the court (rather than the procurator) to determine the legality of their detentions. However, in practice, suspects' appeals to have their |
detentions reviewed by the courts frequently are suppressed because detainees are at the mercy of investigators, and detention officials are unwilling to forward the appeals. There is no provision for |
bail under the current legal code. According to the Belarusian-Helsinki Committee, in late 1998 there were 64,000 persons in detention. By law detainees may be allowed unlimited access to legal |
counsel, and, for those who cannot afford counsel, the court appoints a lawyer. However, investigators routinely fail to inform detainees of their rights and conduct preliminary interrogations without giving detainees |
an opportunity to consult counsel. The information gained then is used against the defendant in court. Even when appointed by the State, defense attorneys are subordinate to the executive branch |
of power. Detainees and lawyers both report restrictions on consultations. Following the arrest of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir on March 30, government authorities initially refused his |
request that his wife, an attorney, officially represent him. However, this decision later was changed to allow Mrs. Chigir to act in this capacity. Chigir was released on November 30, |
but informed that he still faced trial on charges of negligence and abuse of power. Government authorities have disbarred or threatened to disbar a number of attorneys who have been |
involved in politically sensitive cases. Although on August 10 the Ministry of Justice agreed to register the Association for Legal Assistance to the Population (ALAP), an independent organization that provides |
legal assistance to those who have suffered from police brutality or political persecution, it subjected the organization to a comprehensive "inspection" on October 20, shortly after a large antigovernment demonstration |
during which the ALAP maintained that a large number of persons were beaten by government security officials. On November 9, the Ministry of Justice suspended the ALAP's license due to |
such irregularities as alleged violations of the advertising law in its newspaper advertisements. On December 28, the Ministry of Justice informed the ALAP that its license to provide legal services |
would not be renewed. However, the ALAP maintains that a license is required only to work with business organizations, and intends to continue to try to assist private individuals. Prominent |
human rights attorney Vera Stremkovskaya, who was threatened with disbarment by the Ministry of Justice and Minsk Collegium of Advocates in late 1998 for comments she made during a foreign |
trip that were critical of human rights violations in Belarus, was charged with slander by a local prosecutor's office on April 14. The charge stemmed from comments she made during |
judicial proceedings in defense of Vasiliy Staravoitov, a state farm director charged with embezzlement. The procurator general's office pursued the case throughout the year and called Stremkovskaya in for official |
questioning on September 29. However, the charge subsequently was dropped in late December due to lack of evidence. The treatment of Stremkovskaya highlighted the lack of a truly independent bar |
association and political interference in the legal process (see Section 1.e.). As in 1998, the Government again held hundreds of political detainees during the year. Most were peaceful participants in |
antigovernment demonstrations who were held anywhere from several hours to several days (see Section 2.b.). For example, Yawhen Skocha, a deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front (BNF) youth movement, |
was given a 10-day "administrative" sentence on February 15 for leading an unsanctioned, but peaceful, antigovernment demonstration the previous day in Minsk, following which a total of 15 persons were |
detained briefly. On June 10, Skocha was given an additional 1-year suspended sentence on a charge related to the demonstration – "organization of a group action in violation of public |
order." On May 1, 19 opposition activists, including the chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (BSDP), were detained briefly for attempting to participate in an official Labor Day celebratory |
event in Minsk. Viktor Babayed, the chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, also was detained briefly. On July 21, government security officers arrested and briefly detained 53 |
persons who participated in an unsanctioned, but peaceful, antigovernment demonstration. On July 27, 19 persons were detained for participating in an unsanctioned, but peaceful, demonstration to commemorate Belarus's 1990 declaration |
of sovereignty from the Soviet Union. BSDP chairman Mikalay Statkevich was detained following the demonstration and given a 10-day prison sentence for organizing the demonstration. However, Yawhen Asinski was held |
until September 6 (see Section 1.c.). On October 17, approximately 93 persons were arrested for participating in a large unsanctioned demonstration and protest march. In a series of assembly line-style |
court judgements, roughly 17 persons were sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 days, and 19 persons were fined. A number of opposition leaders associated with the demonstration, including |
Mikolai Statkevich and Lyudmila Gryaznova were arrested at their homes on the evening of October 17. A number of other opposition political figures went into hiding to escape wide-ranging roundups |
conducted by government security officers. Gryaznova subsequently was fined approximately $500 (300 million rubles) while Statkevich was released on October 31 following the intervention of the chairman of the OSCE |
parliamentary assembly committee on Belarus. On October 19, 13th Supreme Soviet Deputy and United Civic Party deputy chairman Anatoliy Lebedko was arrested for his role in the October 17 demonstration. |
He was given a 10-day sentence even though he did not participate in the protest march that ended in clashes with security officials. Despite backing out from participating in the |
demonstration and protest march, opposition Youth Front member Yevtgeny Afnagel was given a 15-day sentence. While searching for his father, government security briefly detained the son of independent newspaper editor |
Pavel Zhuk for questioning. Unidentified, nonuniformed officials working for the security services regularly apprehend participants in antigovernment demonstrations (see Section 2.b.). There are credible reports that plainclothes security officials sometimes |
infiltrate antigovernment demonstrations in order to either report on opposition protesters or provoke clashes between demonstrators and police. Security officers on occasion also preemptively have apprehended organizers and individuals considered |
to be potential participants prior to demonstrations, including those that had been sanctioned by the Government. Security force officials detained journalists and NGO officials during the year (See Sections 2.b. |
and 4.). Following demonstrations, government security officials have held some detainees incommunicado. In addition to the hundreds of antigovernment protestors, whom authorities held for several hours or days, there were |
several prominent political detainees whom the Government held for prolonged periods in pretrial detention, some for over a year. On March 30, opposition leader and former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir |
was arrested on charges of alleged financial impropriety and exceeding his authority during his tenure as a head of a state bank several years previously. Chigir's arrest occurred just prior |
to a public ceremony to register his participation in an opposition-organized presidential election initiative aimed at drawing attention to the upcoming end of Lukashenko's legal 5-year term in office. It |
also followed several warnings from government security officials to Chigir that to cease his political activities. He remained in pretrial detention until November, although the procurator's office failed to present |
any substantive or specific evidence of his alleged crimes. Despite protests from the OSCE and a number of foreign governments Chagir remained in pretrial detention until November 30. Trial proceedings, |
which government authorities indicated would be followed through, remained pending as of year's end. In February 1998, police arrested Andrei Klimov, a successful entrepreneur and member of the Parliament that |
was dissolved in late 1996, on charges of embezzlement and other financial irregularities. Kilmov's supporters and some human rights observers believe that his arrest was politically motivated, because Klimov is |
an outspoken critic of President Lukashenko and had participated in a commission that examined violations of the law and the Constitution by the President. Klimov's period of pretrial detention was |
extended on several occasions. He was beaten severely by prison guards in December (see Section 1.c.). As of year's end, Klimov remained in detention while his trial, which began on |
July 22, continued. Former director of the joint-stock agribusiness (Rassvet) Vasiliy Staravoitov and former Agriculture Minister Vasily Leonov were arrested in late 1997 for allegedly embezzling state credits. Authorities denied |
appeals for their release on their own recognizance due to age and poor health. The trial of the 75-year-old Staravoitov, which officially began in November 1998, was delayed repeatedly due |
to his weak physical condition aggravated by poor prison conditions. On May 30, Staravoitov was found guilty and sentenced to foreiture of property and 2 years (including time already served) |
in a labor camp. Staravoitov was released on November 11 after completion of his sentence. Domestic human rights groups believe that both Staravoitov and Leonov were arrested to draw attention |
away from a poor harvest on heavily subsidized state farms. The Government is dedicated to maintaining a Soviet model of agriculture and Rassvet's demonstrated independence in implementing reforms not sanctioned |
by the Government apparently posed a threat to such efforts. Immediately following Staravoitov's arrest, the Government renationalized his company. The trial of Leonov, which began in Minsk on August 17, |
was ongoing at year's end. While in detention, Leonov has suffered two heart attacks. Leonov also initiated a hunger strike to protest the initial refusal by prison authorities to provide |
him with medical supplies brought by his relatives. Former National Bank chairwoman Tamara Vinnikova was arrested in January 1997 on allegations of malfeasance during her previous tenure as head of |
a state bank. The timing of her arrest, which coincided with her increasingly public challenges to President Lukashenko's economic policies, led observers to suspect a political motive. Due to her |
failing health, following 10 months in a KGB facility, Vinnikova was allowed to continue her period of pretrial detention under house arrest beginning in November 1997. While under house arrest, |
her visitors and incoming phone calls were monitored around-the-clock by guards from the Presidential Security Service. On April 8, Vinnikova disappeared. She was apparently able to escape from her guards |
and eventually make it to another country. Following her reappearance in mid-December, Vinnikova claimed in a radio news interview she went into hiding in order to escape a suspected conspiracy |
against her life (see Section 1.b.). Statistics on the current number of persons in pretrial detention and the average length of pretrial detention were not available. As of August 1998, |
there were approximately 11,000 persons in pretrial detention. The Government does not used forced exile. e. Denial of Fair Public Trial The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however in |
practice the judiciary is not independent and largely is unable to act as a check on the executive branch and its agents. Reforms adopted to support the independence of the |
judiciary in 1995 were not implemented. Without major structural reforms, the independence of the judiciary cannot be realized. The November 1996 constitutional referendum further subordinated the judiciary to the executive |
branch by giving the President the power to appoint 6 of the 12 members of the Constitutional Court, including the chairman. The remaining six are appointed by the Council of |
the Republic, which itself is composed of individuals appointed by the President or elected by individuals influenced by the President. The President also appoints the chairmen of the Supreme Court |
and the Supreme Economic Court. The President also has authority under the Constitution to appoint and dismiss all district and military judges. The criminal justice system follows the former Soviet |
model and has three tiers: District courts; regional courts; and the Supreme Court. Several modifications have been made, brought about by the passage of the new Constitution, including direct presidential |
appointments. The Constitutional Court was established in 1994 to adjudicate serious constitutional issues, but, dependent on the executive branch, it does not challenge presidential initiatives. In addition the Constitutional Court |
has no means to enforce its decisions. Judges adjudicate trials; only in capital offense trials in which the defendant pleads not guilty and demands a jury trial do juries determine |
innocence or guilt. Judges are dependent on the Ministry of Justice for sustaining court infrastructure and on local executive branch officials for providing their personal housing. In addition judges owe |
their positions to the President. Although the Procurator's Office categorically denies it, there are widespread and credible reports that "telephone justice" (the practice of executive and local authorities dictating to |
the courts the outcome of trials) continues. On February 24, Belarusian judge Yury Sushkov announced at a press conference in Germany that he had asked for political asylum from German |
authorities. Sushkov claimed that KGB officials forced him to sentence two Belarusian customs officers to several years in prison, despite a lack of conclusive evidence of their guilt. He stated |
that he could no longer, "make dishonest decisions and act against principles of juridical consciousness." On August 5, while on an inspection tour in the Brest oblast in the western |
part of the country, Lukashenko told local reporters that he personally exercised control over "certain" ongoing judicial cases, including that of former Prime Minister and opposition leader Mikhail Chigir (see |
Section 1.d.). Lukashenko stated, "I have them under control, I am not going to allow any injustice there myself." On August 30, during a government interagency commission on crime covered |
by the official media, President Lukashenko reportedly stated, "It is natural for the Head of State to exercise control over one criminal case or another...especially in our country, where the |
Head of State controls all the branches of power – legislative, executive, and judicial." Prosecutors, like the courts, are organized into offices at the district, regional, and republic levels. They |
are ultimately responsible to, and serve at the pleasure of, the Procurator General who, according to the Constitution, is appointed by the Council of the Republic. In May 1997, Lukashenko |
issued presidential decree number 12, "Several Measures on Improving the Practice of Lawyers and Notaries," which, according to international legal experts and human rights monitors, seriously compromised the independence of |
lawyers from the Government. The decree, which ostensibly was issued in response to allegedly exorbitant attorneys' fees, subordinated all lawyers to the Ministry of Justice, which controls the licensing of |
lawyers, and placed the bar association under much greater Ministry of Justice control. During 1997 and 1998, the Government used the decree to strip several lawyers of their licenses, including |
President Lukashenko's political opponents, such as former Supreme Soviet chairman Mecheslav Gryb, and prominent defense attorneys Garry Pogonyailo and Nadezhda Dudareva. Human rights activist and defense attorney Vera Stremkovskaya was |
threatened with disbarment following her public criticisms of the Government while on a visit abroad in 1998. She was charged with "slander" in April for comments she made in a |
court while defending a client. The charge was dropped later in the year (see Section 1.d.). The Constitution provides for public trials, although exceptions can be made in cases established |
by law (for example, in cases of rape or on grounds of national security). Defendants have the legal right to attend proceedings, confront witnesses, and present evidence on their own |
behalf. However, these rights are not always respected in practice. Defendants' legal right to be represented by counsel also is not always respected in practice. While the 1996 Constitution establishes |
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