POLICE VIOLENCE AND ARBITRARY ARRESTS AT DEMONSTRATIONS

It's understandable. You've just spent 10 days [in prison], you don't feel like participating in a second demonstration. Your mother, wife, or someone else tells you that it isn't worth it. . . Today's tactics are that simple.99

Numerous demonstrations held in early 1997 ended in police intervention, clashes between police and demonstrators, excessive use of force by the police and arbitrary arrests. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki believes that in many cases, the circumstances did not justify such aggressive police responses, which were clearly part of a government-sanctioned policy to mistreat protesters and to intimidate others who might consider participating in public demonstrations. Police violence and arbitrary arrests victimized people of all ages and all walks of life, political activists, journalists and bystanders alike.

Atmosphere at Demonstrations

As a rule, police apparently would intervene after demonstrators would violate some of the unreasonable regulations of Presidential Decree No. 5. However, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki has evidence suggesting that even in those instances when the behavior of demonstrators might have justified police intervention, the authorities themselves were often responsible for escalating tensions. Police activities at and around demonstrations were reportedly aimed solely at creating an intimidating atmosphere, or even simply to provoke violence. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki has received several, credible eyewitness reports that plainclothes policemen have been stationed amid the demonstrators. Several sources said that they saw plainclothes policemen try to incite demonstrators into using violence. One demonstrator, a male student, told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki:

An enormous number of provocateurs from the police and KGB walk around at every demonstration [among the demonstrators]. They wear badges, yell the same slogans [as demonstrators], wave flags and incite the crowd, saying: "Let's go onto the streets [leave the sidewalk], let's beat those enemies [the police]..." I was caught once by police officers who had incited me.100

Excessive Use of Force by Police

In addition to the fact that police efforts to stop several demonstrations have reportedly been unjustified, they have also been excessively violent.101 In many cases, they apparently sought more to intimidate people than to protect or restore public order. Numerous demonstrators provided first-hand accounts to Human Rights Watch/Helsinki of how the police intervene in demonstrations. Their descriptions consistently showed the following basic police practice: With or without a warning to disperse, the policemen form long chains several layers thick, and then close in on the demonstrators, beating and kicking the first rows of people, and pushing them back. Trying to avoid being hit, the first rows of demonstrators push back upon those demonstrators behind them, who cannot easily escape. As demonstrators begin to panic and flee, the police follow and beat whomever is closest, hitting them with batons and fists, kicking them, and spraying gas in their faces. The following excerpts from testimonies, selected from dozens of interviews Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial conducted with victims and witnesses, speak for themselves.

Describing police intervention at an April 2, 1997, demonstration, one demonstrator explained:

While they beat up the first [row of demonstrators] with batons and fists, the ones in the back are trampled by feet. . . There was such pressure!. . . They started a clean-up operation, just as the demonstration was passing [a row of] two-story houses. . . The crowd of two thousand people could not disperse that quickly. There was panicky pressure, people ran. Those who could not get away hid in the staircases of the houses. But I don't think they got off lightly, the . . . [policemen] went after them and they took people from the staircases and out of the shops and beat them up, just like that.102

An anonymous female participant told a Memorial representative at the demonstration:

It was a normal peaceful day. There was a demonstration, in which we participated, and we were going home quietly. Here they blocked all movement. A whole. . . military division of riot police jumped on us and started grabbing the youth first, and then just everyone. I saw-I'm still shocked-how they dragged away a young guy by the hair.103

The Memorial representative recorded some of his observations as police beat participants in this demonstration:

They are beating up a woman at the moment, they're taking her away, two of them [policemen]. The OMON [riot police] just came out of café Voskhod, around twenty people were beaten up. . . They used their batons on people who tried to [flee] into the cafe, there were beatings at the door withoutany warning. There were no banners or flags. Most of them were journalists and witnesses who were being interviewed.104

A demonstration on February 14, 1997, also ended in police violence. A participant in this youth demonstration told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki:

On Varvasheni [a street in Minsk] the first skirmishes with the police started because people started to spread out over the road [instead of remaining on the sidewalk]. They started to grab [people] somewhere after the Gorizont factory. The tactic was as follows: They cut a wedge [in the demonstration], started pulling out several people, grabbed them, [put them] into the car and took them away...105

An anonymous demonstrator described police action during a demonstration on February 5, 1997:

[T]hey beat people, just like that, or dragged them over the pavement. It was a regular weekday and the picketers were elderly men and women. The only thing they could do was scream. Or they fell on the ground and the police then pulled them by their hair, hands over the ground. They started to pull one old man's arm, and I just could not deal with the situation and began to pull him [out of the hands of the police]. He was already on the ground. At that moment the police superior. . . pointed at me and they all threw themselves on me and twisted my arm behind my back. . . They beat me in different places: legs, neck, all sensitive spots... I more or less came off lightly, I don't know why. At the court hearing I even praised the officers that they hadn't just killed me.106

The police beatings described above run counter to police conduct mandated by the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.107 In the event of unlawful but non-violent demonstrations, the Basic Principles (principle 13) exhort police to "avoid the use of force or, where that is not practicable, . . . to restrict such force to the minimum extent necessary."

Arbitrary Arrests

Police have arbitrarily arrested not only demonstrators but also many accidental bystanders who had been standing on street corners, waiting for buses, or shopping. Some have been detained for no apparent reason, others because the police apparently suspect they might join the demonstration. Waves of such arrests have taken place before, during, and after demonstrations. As one person commented "That's the way it is these days: Even just walking on the streets is terrifying."108 In numerous cases, bystanders who have spoken out about police brutality have been themselves beaten up and arrested.

In some cases police have not intervened to stop demonstrations, but have still arrested alleged protestors. A student who requested anonymity told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, "These days they just wait for the action to end and arrest those who leave. They notice by the appearance, they film [demonstrations] continuously, all actionsare filmed, there must be kilometers of footage."109 A student who participated in the demonstration of February 14, 1997, told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki about his arrest that day:

I went down into the subway and went home. When I changed from metro station Oktyabrskaya to Kupalovskaya,. . . I was jumped from the back by two guys in leather jackets, shaved heads. . . They jumped me without a word, immediately put on handcuffs, did not identify themselves, grabbed me, and while making threats dragged me to the [subway station] police room.110

Police kicked and punched the student at the subway station police room and, twenty minutes later, sent him to the central Minsk police station. Upon receiving confirmation from the student's parents that he was a diabetic, police released him at 11:00 p.m.

Arrests in connection with the March 14, 1997, demonstration in Minsk were especially egregious.111 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interviewed dozens of credible victims and eyewitnesses of the police violence and arbitrary arrests that took place that day. We detail in the relevant sections below the cases of three people-those of Yury V., Serezha and Zhenya, and Tatyana S.-who were all arrested that day in order to demonstrate the pattern of arbitrary arrest, the charging process, trial procedures, and repercussions on individuals after demonstrations.

Yury V.

On March 14, 1997, Yury V. and several of his friends were walking around the center of Minsk about 150 meters away from an opposition demonstration. The group had stood on a street corner for approximately five minutes observing the demonstration when, in the words of one member of the group:

[S]uddenly and without warning about eight policemen swarmed four of us and dragged us to the paddy wagon. . . We were caught totally off guard, for we were certainly not breaking any laws with our behavior, and before we found ourselves inside the paddy wagon with other political detainees we did not recognize the vehicle for what it was.112

The four were driven around Minsk for about an hour during which time numerous other people were picked up.

Tatyana S.

Tatyana S., a middle-aged woman, told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that on March 14, 1997, she and her friend were shopping for a needy child:

We went past Liberty Square towards a shop. . . when we saw some young people run by. They were being chased by the police. . . suddenly on the same street [the police] were beating up a young man ... The elderly man [who was standing close to the young man] started defending him: "What are you doing? You'll ruin his liver, lungs and kidneys!" The policeman didn't say a word, took the young man, and took the elderly man and pushed them into the car. . . At that moment, the policeman started pushing us away. . . I said: "How dare you push me?! You don't have the right to." He said:"Go away." Then I said: "I will stand where I want. This is MY country." Then the policeman screamed: "Opposition! Take [her] away!" The police grabbed me and put me in the car behind bars.113

Serezha and Zhenya

Fourteen-year-old Serezha and sixteen-year-old Zhenya were detained by plainclothes policemen on March 14, 1997, at 4:20 p.m. The two boys had just left a McDonalds restaurant in central Minsk and made a right hand turn when a car without licence plates stopped and two policemen ran out and grabbed them. One boy claimed that while he was being forced into the car, his head was deliberately pushed against it. The policemen showed no identification; the boys requested it, the policemen responded: "That's none of your business. We'll figure things out when we get there." The policemen told the boys that they had been wrecking cars and that that was the reason for their arrest. However, at the police station they were charged with participating in a demonstration.114

The Charging Process and Ill-treatment

During and after many demonstrations, police have driven patrol cars full of detainees to regional police stations (ROVDs),115 where they have pressed mostly unfounded charges, have beaten detainees, have denied them phone calls to their family and have failed to provide for their basic hygiene.

Yury V.

After an hour in the paddy wagon [on March 14]. . . we arrived at the police station. As we were unloaded from the vehicle. . . a line of police [on] either side of us shoved us hurriedly along into the police waiting room, where we were forced to stand with our hands against the wall and threatened us with Kalashnikov machine guns. While I was personally not subjected to it, many of the men who stood beside me were kicked and abused by policemen.116

Some detainees, at this police station especially minors and the elderly, were released a few hours after the demonstration ended.117 Most others were charged with administrative offences, and, in a few cases, with criminal offences. The police apparently selected the charges arbitrarily and followed a pattern of gathering as many alleged participants as possible, and later making up the charges. Anatoly Lebedko, an activist of the United Civil Party, described to Human Rights Watch/Helsinki what he saw and heard at the Moscow district police station after being arrested at the March 14, 1997, demonstration:

One group of policemen brings in the young people; they don't give any explanation as to why they are being detained. This group of policemen hands the detainees over to a second group of policemen, whose task it is to write up the reports. A normal conversation among the policemen: "What shall I write on him?" Someone says: "Write down that he swore, screamed anti-presidentslogans, walked on the street where you're not supposed to walk.". . .Then yet another group [of policemen] comes in, picks the youngsters up and takes them away.118

Serezha and Zhenya

Serezha and Zhenya were brought to the Central ROVD, where they were searched and later questioned separately. Serezha, a fourteen-year-old, was told to sign a blank piece of paper. Zhenya was instructed to sign the report that had been written up on him, while a policeman, reportedly standing behind him, was playing menacingly with his baton. According to the report, Zhenya and Serezha had participated in the March 14 demonstration. In fact, the demonstration started at 5:00 p.m., after the boys had already been arrested.

It should be noted that even if arrestees are in fact guilty of "carrying an unregistered flag" or "shouting anti-president slogans"-charges which police often press against demonstrators-these offences are themselves in violation of the right to freedom of expression, which is protected under article 19 of the ICCPR.

Although some arrestees are allowed to go home if they promise to appear at their court hearing, most of them are kept in detention until the day of their trial. A defense lawyer told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki:

If meetings or marches take place on Friday or Thursday,. . .people are usually kept in detention for two or three days. They are detained [in conditions that violate] even the most elementary norms of hygiene. No toothpaste, no towels. . . Therefore, when these people are brought to court, they are already under very severe psychological and physical stress."119

In many cases, detainees are not allowed to phone their relatives and are prevented from using the bathroom for hours at a time. Beatings reportedly also take place regularly.

Yury V.

At the police station, three of Yury V.'s friends were released on March 14 without charges:

After his initial interrogation he [Yury V.], like myself, was scheduled for release without charge. Unfortunately, he was unlucky enough to have been spotted by an over-zealous and malicious policemen who, [as he himself admitted] was not pleased with the way my friend looks. His shoulder-length hair and Semitic facial features made him an object of persecution.120

Yury V. was charged with "actively participating in an unsanctioned demonstration on Nemiga Street near metro station Nemiga, and refusing to follow police orders to disperse." When Yury V. refused to sign the police report because that he did not commit the actions described in the report, the policeman hit him in the abdomen (where he had undergone surgery) with his baton. After this, Yury V. signed the report and wrote on the other side of the sheet that he did not agree with the contents of the report and denied the charges. The policeman had to call an ambulance to transport Yury V. to the hospital.

Serezha and Zhenya

Zhenya told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that he and Serezha were the first to be taken into a rather large room inside the Central ROVD police station. Over time, more and more people were brought in. Zhenya estimated that the police eventually brought in at least fifty more detainees, of whom at least twenty were children. He stated:

When a policemen at the ROVD told him [one detainee] to approach, the man said, "Can't you say `please?'" They beat him up with batons for that and took him to the isolation cell. Another man, a former military man . . .started complaining: "How can you beat him?! There are children in here.". . .When the former military man started complaining, they took him to the isolation cell as well. . .There were some elderly ladies. They [also] took an old man with an ice cream cone. He had been shopping. . .They searched him and found milk, ice cream and a loaf of bread in his bag.121

During a rally in Minsk on March 23, 1997, policemen arrested a diabetic and kept him in detention for fourteen hours, even though he repeatedly notified them that he suffered from diabetes. When the man said that he required medication, the police responded by calling him a "drug addict." When his mother finally located the police station where he was being held, he was in a near-comatose state and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki was not able to speak to the victim himself because his health condition was still too serious at the time of our visit.122

Court Hearings and Penalties

"You are a judge - how can you accept false testimonies?!" - a Belarusian defendant to a judge

In the wake of demonstrations, literally bus loads of people are brought to various courts in Minsk and tried. Most of these trials are blatantly unfair. Defense witnesses are often not allowed into the court rooms, while verdicts are frequently based on inconsistent police testimony. In many cases, these police officers were not even present during the arrest or did not witness the allegedly unlawful actions of the accused.

A representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, which actively monitors these trials, told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that one trial observer had witnessed a case where:

[T]he policeman said that the accused was standing on the street and discussed the politics of the country, which in itself was the accusation. The judge asked what exactly [the accused] had said, to which the [policeman] said: "How am I supposed to know? I was far away [from the accused] and there were a lot of people."123

The representative added:

That is an example of the witnesses [that are used during these court hearings]. Mostly the majority of the witnesses are policemen, the witnesses of the accused usually aren't called on [to testify], even if there are [such witnesses]. And there rarely is a lawyer. . . Either [the demonstrators] very rarelyask for one, or [the authorities] very rarely allow one. And [the punishments] they give. . .well, that really depends on the judge."

From other sources, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki has learned that although at least some detainees are asked whether they want legal representation, this is often done only on the day of the court hearing. When a detainee wants a lawyer, the authorities are often slow in finding one, with the result being that insisting on legal representation often adds two to three extra days to one's detention. In addition, when the authorities ask whether a detainee wants a lawyer, they apparently make it clear that those who insist on having a lawyer will not receive any benefit from doing so. Moreover, many detainees are not allowed to phone their relatives while they are being detained, so relatives cannot arrange for a lawyer.

The courts have liberally applied the two forms of punishment-fines and administrative detention-established by Presidential Decree No. 5.124 Although it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of people who have been subjected to these sanctions, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee estimates the number to be in the hundreds.

Yury V.

On April 2, 1997, the Partizan Regional Court of Minsk heard the case of Yury V. Representatives of Human Rights Watch/Helsinki visited the court in an attempt to observe the hearing. However, Judge Roinik barred the representatives from entering the court room during the hearing, refusing to give any explanation for this decision. Yury V. later informed Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that he had told the court:

I did not attend the demonstration because I'm not involved in politics, and also, I recently underwent a serious operation and didn't want to be in a crowd where I could easily get injured.125

He also said that he was arrested on a different street than that described in the police report and he asked the judge to allow him to call on four witnesses who could confirm his story. He told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki:

The court apparently decided not to create any unnecessary problems for itself with respect to assessing the evidence and refused to satisfy my request to examine the witnesses without motivating the decision in any way [providing an explanation as to why].

The judge did allow the testimony of two policemen. According to Yury V., he had seen the policemen only at the police station and not on the street where he was arrested. The policemen, however, stated that Yury V. had been detained while taking part in an unsanctioned demonstration and had refused to follow orders to disperse.

During the court hearing, the two policemen gave contradictory testimonies. ... Pashchenko [one of the policemen] said that I was dressed in a dark jacket, while according to Makovsky [the other policeman] I was dressed in a gray raincoat.126

Judge Roinik did not, however, take into consideration the contradictions in the testimony. She issued a decision stating:

[Yury V.] actively took part in an unsanctioned demonstration on Nemiga Street around metro station Nemiga and refused to follow police orders to disperse, in violation of point 10 of the decree [Presidential Decree N5]. . .[Yury V.] does not admit his guilt, stating that he was unlawfully detained on Lenin Street and did not take part in the demonstration but was there by coincidence. However, his guilt in committing an administrative offence is confirmed by the report127. . . , and the testimonies of witnesses Pashchenko S.E., Makovskii, V.V.128

Yury V. was fined 2.6 million Belarusian roubles (approximately US$100).

Tatyana S.

Tatyana S. described her hearing to Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial:

We were taken to the court. I was tried first. . .I was asked [by the judge]: "Did you take part in the demonstration?" I said: "No, I did not. I just walked by, we were helping a child in need and were not involved in anything." That was the only thing the judge asked me. Then he called in a policeman, as a witness. The judge asked him what I was doing there. The young guy said that I had just stood there. . .Then a second one was called in. This one said: "She said: `This is my country, I will stand where I want.'" And he added that I ran onto the road, threw stones and swore.129

The judge eventually sentenced her to five days in administrative detention and fined her friend 2.6 million Belarusian roubles (approximately US$100).

Repercussions at the Workplace Schools, and Universities

Demonstrators are punished not only by police and the courts-they are also reprimanded and discouraged from taking part in opposition activities by their teachers and colleagues. Even those who are in principle sympathetic to the protestors' causes apparently want to protect their own positions and therefore discourage students and colleagues from taking part in demonstrations. Many people interviewed by Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial expressed fear of repercussions at work for what they do or say at or outside the workplace.

One man told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that after being arrested at demonstrations on February 5 and 14, 1997, the authorities sent letters to his office. Although his director defended him, several people at work criticized him for participating in political rallies fearing that the entire institution could be closed because of his activities. The director also told the man that he would not be able to protect him if the Ministry of Education instructs the director to get rid of those who are "not trustworthy."130

A university student told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that the dean at his faculty had defended one student who had participated in demonstrations, but had later warned the other students that they should not get caught because she would not be able to defend them for very long.131 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki has also been informed that a number of students who participated in demonstrations were reprimanded and harassed by their university orinstitute. In March 1997, the director of the Belarus State University issued Directive No. 227 on the Intensification of Legal and Educational Work with Students. On the basis of this directive, disciplinary measures were reportedly taken against a number of student movement leaders for their participation in demonstrations.132 Eight students apparently received a reprimand, as did six deans and a deputy director of the university. Several students told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that they believed professors gave them low grades as punishment for participating in demonstrations. One of them said: "The dean who [gave] the exam did not hide the reasons for the [low] marks."133 It appears that these low grades are later used to expel the concerned student from university on the grounds of his or her unsatisfactory academic performance. Sergei Martselev, one of the organizers of the March 20, 1997, demonstration, was apparently one of the first to be expelled for this reason.

Belarus State University reportedly expelled several other students for their participation in demonstrations. Pavel Karnazytsky was apparently expelled from the faculty of journalism for his repeated participation in and organization of student protests, and specifically for a demonstration held on May 30, 1996.134

In some cases, school children and their parents have been harassed after participating in a demonstration:

Serezha's participation in the March 14, 1997 demonstration was broadcast on Minsk television. He told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki the following:

[T]wo days had gone by when the head of the institution called me. He said: "You were shown on the news, right?" I said: "Yes, Saturday on Vesti." Then he started telling me: "Do you know what will happen?! You're fourteen already. They'll send you to the Commission on Minors, and then to Gomel [to a boarding school]."135

Serezha's mother told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, "We were visited by his teacher and a young man who did not introduce himself. . .She [the teacher] told me that the Commission on Minors will call me in because my son was in contact with the Belarus Popular Front."136

A teacher threatened Serezha's mother with a serious fine for her son's actions. Sixteen-year-old Zhenya was shown on the news together with Serezha and was subsequently harassed at school for several days. Teachers reportedly told him that they might lose their bonuses because of his activities.137

HARASSMENT OF POLITICAL OPPONENTS

Many of the deputies of the Thirteenth Supreme Soviet who were not among those hand-picked by President Lukashenka to be members of the Chamber of Representatives have remained active in opposition politics, and asa result they have faced administrative prosecution, harassment, threats, and ill-treatment. Here we document several of these incidents, by no means an exhaustive account, but one that demonstrates the general pattern of harassment.

This group of deputies began to be harassed almost immediately after the formation of the "presidential" parliament in November 1996. President Lukashenka, for instance ruled that the deputies diplomatic passports were no longer valid, and it took an unusually long time to issue regular passports to them, preventing them from traveling abroad. 138 More importantly, the immunity of several deputies was lifted by decision of the General Procurator of Belarus and the Chairman of the Supreme Court, even though the presidential constitution states that deputies of the Thirteenth Supreme Soviet preserve their powers until the end of the term of the Chamber of Representatives. Stripped of parliamentary immunity, such individuals may be, and have been, prosecuted.

Several deputies told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that they had been threatened by strangers. Lyudmila Gryaznova said that she had recently been approached several times by strangers who offered to help her but also subsequently warned her in a suspicious way that her activities might have unpleasant consequences: that "they" could kidnap her and take her away somewhere, or that she might be driving her car in the countryside and another car might crash into her. Recently, her parents were also approached and threatened.139 Several other deputies have received phone calls from complete strangers threatening their wives and children.

Anatoly Lebedko

Anatoly Ledebko, a deputy of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Supreme Soviets and a member of the United Civil Party, was the victim of an attack on February 11, 1997, by unknown men in the elevator of his own apartment. He told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki:

On the day after a meeting of the commission [which was established by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet to investigate violations of laws and the constitution by President Lukashenka], Viktar Gonchar. . . drove me home in his car around 8:00 p.m. . . We said goodbye at the entrance of my apartment building ... I entered the building, got the mail and went up to the third floor [by elevator]. The door opened and immediately, at the open elevator, [I received] several punches. I fell into the elevator and they started kicking me with their feet. It all happened in silence, no one said a word.

Anatoly Lebedko recalls being both hit and kicked in the face. No valuables were taken away from him. Earlier, in 1996, Ledebko had received various anonymous phone calls following a series of publications on government involvement in organized crime. The callers told him that it would be better for his safety and that of his family to leave that theme alone.140

Many deputies have also been arbitrarily arrested, tried, and sentenced to administrative detention or fines, although usually they have been released shortly after being detained. These deputies include Anatoly Lebedko, Pavel Znavets, Boris Gyunter, Gennady Karpenko, Mecheslav Grib, Stanislav Shushkevich, Stanislav Bogdankevich, Vasiliy Novikov, Semyon Sharetsky, and Valery Shchukin. Other leading political figures who have received such treatment include: Leon Borshchevsky, Vintsukh Vechorka, Stanislav Gusak, Uladzimir Nester, Vyacheslav Sivchik, Yury Khodyko, Nikolai Statkevich and Yuri Zakharenko. In some cases, as with "ordinary" people, deputies are detained without any apparent reason:

Stanislav Shushkevich

On April 2, 1997, police detained Stanislav Shushkevich, a former speaker of the Supreme Soviet. Shushkevisch told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that he intended to visit an art exhibit and had just given an interview to a journalist. He had been standing at the entrance to a church where the exhibit was held, when seven or eight policemen approached him and asked him to come with them. When Shushkevich refused to come voluntarily, he was forcefully taken to the police station. Shushkevich told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that he repeatedly asked the police why he was being detained and that the police themselves did not know, but claimed that he had committed some sort of administrative offence. Two hours later, Shushkevich was released, apparently after the police station had been swamped by phone calls from people asking about him.141

Pavel Znavets

Some deputies have been sentenced to administrative detention or to serious fines. One of the more serious cases is that of Pavel Znavets.

On March 14, 1997, Znavets was detained briefly together with several other deputies of the Thirteenth Supreme Soviet. On March 20, 1997, Znavets was reportedly sentenced to five days of administrative detention for participating in the demonstration of March 15, 1997. During those five days, he reportedly went on a hunger strike. After serving that sentence, he was then sentenced to five more days in administrative detention and a fine of 13 million Belarusian roubles (approximately US$500) for participation in a number of demonstrations. On March 30, 1997, Znavets stood trial again and was sentenced to another five days for organizing a demonstration that was supposed to take place on March 20, but that did not happen because he and two student leaders were arrested. After serving these last five days, he was finally released.

Police regularly attempt to carry out searches of the apartments of opposition leaders and deputies. For example, the apartments of Shushkevich, Simyon Sharetsky, Yuir Zakharenko and Valery Shchukin were searched just before the demonstration of March 23, 1997. On March 12, 1997, a search was carried out at the headquarters of the United Civil Party, and 359 pamphlets announcing the demonstration of March 15, 1997, were confiscated. On the same day, several Belarus Popular Front (BPF) activists were detained or harassed. Other forms of harassment at the offices of opposition parties and figures have also been reported. For example, on February 11, 1997, the office of the Party of Communists of Belarus was sealed off because it allegedly was in breach with fire safety regulations.142

Vyacheslav Sivchik and Yury Khodyko

Criminal cases against a number of leading BPF members deserve special attention. Vyacheslav Sivchik, Yury Khodyko, both BPF leaders, were accused of participating in or organizing group activities which led to violations of public order on April 26, 1996, the tenth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. During their detention, they held a twenty-one day hunger strike. Their criminal cases were dropped in early 1997 for the puzzling reason that the men had stopped being a threat to the state after the adoption of the presidential constitution. On March 13, 1997, Yuri Khodyko was arrested when he demanded to see the identification of police officers who wanted to carry out a house search at the BPF headquarters. The next day, he was sentenced to five days of administrative arrest for "insubordination to police officers."143

Aleksandr Bondarev

Aleksandr Bondarev is a research associate at the national center for physics at the Belarus State University. On March 23, 1997, he participated in a demonstration organized by the BPF. When a police officer began beating a group of demonstrators, Bondarev reportedly tried to grab the policeman's baton but caught his arm instead. He and other demonstrators then pulled the policeman into the group of demonstrators where the policeman was beaten up. Bondarev claims that he tried to grab the policeman's baton in an attempt to defend himself and did not intend to harm the policeman or pull him into the crowd of demonstrators. Bondarev also maintains that he did not beat the policeman himself. Before this incident, Bondarev had been hit over the head by the police with a baton several times. On April 1, 1997, Bondarev was arrested during another demonstration. A criminal case was instituted against him on April 4, 1997 for violations of public order and beating a policeman.144 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki is concerned that due to Bondarev's association with the BPF, the Belarus criminal justice system will not afford him full due process of law.

***

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report was written by Diederik Lohman, director of the Moscow office of Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Malcolm Hawkes, associate with Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. It was edited by Rachel Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, Joanne Mariner, associate counsel and Wilder Tayler, general counsel. The research for this report was conducted during two visits to the Republic of Belarus. In June 1996, Professor Donna Artz, consultant to Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, and Alexander Petrov, deputy director of the Moscow office, visited Belarus for one week. The second visit was carried out in April 1997 by Alexander Petrov and Diederik Lohman. Both visits were carried out jointly with the Memorial Human Rights Center. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki assumes sole responsibility for the contents of this report.

Human Rights Watch/Helsinki would like to thank Professor Donna Artz for her enormous contribution to our work on Belarus. We thank Catherine Fitzpatrick for her invaluable help, advice and encouragement. We would also like to thank Malcolm Hawkes and Liuda Belova for their assistance in the production of the report. We are further grateful to the nongovernmental organizations, journalists, lawyers, judges and other individuals who worked with us during our visits to Belarus.

This report is also available in Russian. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki gratefully acknowledges the support of the J. M. Kaplan Fund for making this translation possible.

Human Rights Watch/Helsinki

Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world.

We stand with victims and activists to bring offenders to justice, to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom and to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime.

We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable.

We challenge governments and those holding power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law.

The staff includes Kenneth Roth, executive director; Susan Osnos, associate director; Michele Alexander, development director; Cynthia Brown, program director; Barbara Guglielmo, finance and administration director; Robert Kimzey, publications director; Jeri Laber, special advisor; Lotte Leicht, Brussels office director; Susan Osnos, communications director; Jemera Rone, counsel; Wilder Tayler, general counsel; and Joanna Weschler, United Nations representative. Robert L. Bernstein is the chair of the board and Adrian W. DeWind is vice chair.

Its Helsinki division was established in 1978 to monitor and promote domestic and international compliance with the human rights provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Accords. It is affiliated with the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, which is based in Vienna, Austria. Holly Cartner is the executive director; Rachel Denber is the deputy director; Erika Dailey, Andreas Lommen, Maxine Marcus, Christopher Panico, and Diane Paul are research associates; Diederik Lohman is the Moscow office director, Alexander Petrov is the assistant Moscow office director; John MacLeod is the Toshkent office director; Marie Struthers is the Dushanbe office director; and Liudmila Belova, Malcolm Hawkes, Emily Shaw, and Juliet Wilson are associates. Jonathan Fanton is the chair of the advisory committee and Peter Osnos and Alice Henkin are co-vice chairs.

Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org

Listserv address: To subscribe to the list, send an e-mail message to majordomo@igc.apc.org with "subscribe hrw-news" in the body of the message (leave the subject line blank).

APPENDIX A

List of Demonstrations, February to April 1997

Date

Type of Demonstration

Results

February 10

Meeting and march against the presidential decision concerning the Komarov market, as a result of which over 10,000 people lost their place in the market.

Four people were arrested, but later acquitted of the charges against them.

February 14

"Belarus into Europe," organized by the youth movement of Belarusian Popular Front. The embassies of various Western countries were visited.

Around 3,000 participants. At the end of the demonstration, between eighty and two hundred people were arrested. Police used batons, electric shock prongs, and gas balloons on demonstrators. Many of the arrested were sentenced to administrative detention or heavy fines. One of the leaders of the BPF youth movement was sentenced to ten days in administrative detention for "organizing an unsanctioned march and violating public order." Several journalists suffered the destruction of video and audio footage.

February 24

Picket of the Free Union of Belarus at the presidential residence.

Nine participants were arrested.

March 2

930th anniversary of the city of Minsk

An estimated 1,000 participants staged an unsanctioned march along sidewalks and roads to the city center. Around thirty people were arrested after the action and subjected to administrative proceedings, including the BPF vice-chairman, Vintsuk Vechorka.

March 10

Picket against the unification of Russia and Belarus on Independence Square. Only forty participants were allowed.

Some 2,000 demonstrators started to march. Russian and Belarusian flags were burned and trampled. The police intervened and between fifty and a hundred people were detained. At least forty people were sentenced to three to ten days in administrative detention or to a fine of 1.3 to 3.0 million Belarusian roubles (approximataely US$50-US$120)

March 14

"Belarus into Europe II." This demonstration was forbidden altogether.

Some 146 people were arrested, including school children, bystanders, Supreme Soviet deputies and journalists. Many were released without charges.

March 15

Constitution Day meeting. Had only been sanctioned on an "especially designated spot" and demonstrators had to arrive there using narrow back streets.

Two thousand people marched to the center of the city. Police batallions and concrete obstructions were placed on the road but the demonstrators walked around them. Some one hundred demonstrators were detained after the demonstration.

March 20

Picket against forced assignment of students to jobs.

Around forty people were arrested, including the organizers, Pavel Karnazytsky and Sergei Martselev who were both sentenced to ten days of administrative arrest. Fines of US$200 to US$400 dollars were apparently imposed on the other arrested students.

March 23

Forbidden march for the seventy-ninth anniversary of the Belarusian People's Republic.

Some 5,000 to 7,000 participants. Chains of riot police stopped demonstrators on their way to the center of the city. Serious clashes between police and demonstrators, some eighteen policemen and numerous demonstrators were wounded. Dozens of participants were arrested. Several members of the Thirteenth Supreme Soviet were prosecuted for organizing the demonstration.

April 1

"Garbuz-97," demonstration against the unification of Belarus and Russia.

Dozens of people were arrested. Deputy and journalist Shchukin was beaten up by the police.

April 2

Sanctioned meeting against the unification of Belarus and Russia.

No clashes occurred during the sanctioned part of the demonstration. A group of demonstrators that marched towards the Russian Embassy was stopped by the police. Over fifty people were beaten up by riot police, including at least five journalists, and around 200 people were arrested.

April 6

Picket at the National Assembly against the "presidential" parliament.

No police action.

APPENDIX B

Direct Action, Youth Union

(Pamphlet distributed October 26, 1996.)

Why are all normal youth now joining Direct Action?

Because it is the first and only among youth organizations that has made three goals for itself:

-to not allow our own to be harmed;

-to defend the interests of youth;

-to suppress opponents ruthlessly.

Because Direct action does not chat, it works. And it is tough. It sets a goal and it gets it. If something gets in the way, it's overcome. If opponents get in the way, we destroy them.

Because Direct action does not distinguish between bureaucrats, titles and offices. Direct Action does not fear bureaucrats still in office but who have sold out, does not fear the ridiculous opposition, which lives on gifts from Western funds. Direct Action is in the fight against both. Generally, it fights for order at all levels-from the ministry to the school and dormitories. If they violate our rights-the rights of youth-the Direct Action commandant makes him behave properly. If it's a minister, Direct Action will not back off and will do everything to have the ministry call him to task. As long as anyone anywhere violates the rights youth, Direct Action will not rest at ease. And there are violations everywhere. So there's lots of work to do.

Because Direct Action does not allow harm to its own. If we have to, we help defend. We have the ways, the means and the strength for it.

Because Direct Action has order and discipline. This is the power of Direct Action. Here youth learns to follow and give orders. Here leaders speak who know how to take responsibility and deal with responsibility. That's why Direct Action is successful.

Because for Direct Action, the law is the interests and desires of youth, and not some half-baked thoughts. If students demand open visits and higher stipends, Direct Action fights for it and will fight for it. If the dormitory needs renovation, we'll get it. It's time to widen and simplify acceptance in higher education, especially for youth from the provinces, and we'll get that too. It's time to straighten out he distribution of housing and other benefits for youth, with the help of supervisory bodies loyal to the President we'll straighten things out here and will push into the corner bribe-takers and thieves. . .

99 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, representative of the Belarus Helsinki Committee, Minsk, April 1, 1997. 100 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, student "A," April 5, 1997, Minsk. 101 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki has changed the names of most victims we interviewed for this section, in the interests of their security. 102 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, anonymous demonstrator, Minsk, April 6, 1997. 103 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, anonymous demonstrator "B," April 2, 1997, Minsk. 104 Stas Markelov, Memorial Human Rights Center, April 2, 1997, Minsk. 105 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, anonymous student "A," April 5, 1997, Minsk. 106 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, "B," April 6, 1997, Minsk. 107 Adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, Cuba, August 27 to September 7, 1990. 108 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, student "A," Minsk, April 6, 1997. 109 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, student "C," Minsk, April 1, 1997. 110 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, student "A," Minsk, April 5, 1997. 111 The demonstration, "Belarus into Europe," was meant to be primarily a youth rally. 112 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interviews, Yury V. (not the man's real name) and his friends, Minsk, April 6, 1997. 113 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, Tatyana S. (not the woman's real name), Minsk, April 4, 1997. 114 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, Serezha and Zhenya (not their real names), Minsk, April 6, 1997. 115 Rayonnoye otdelyeniye vnutrennykh del' (district department of internal affairs). 116 Written testimony by Yury V.'s friend, received by Human Rights Watch/Helsinki on April 7, 1997. 117 Under Belarusian law, police may detain an individual of any age for three hours in order to establish his or her identity. 118 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki interview, April 6, 1997. 119 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, Nadezhda Dudareva, Minsk, Aril 2, 1997. 120 Written testimony by Yury V.'s friend, received by Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, April 7, 1997. 121 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki interview, Zhenya, Minsk, April 6, 1997. 122 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, mother of the victim, Minsk, April 6, 1997. 123 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Minsk, April 1, 1997. 124 See above, footnote 95, for a discussion of judicial sentences of administrative detention. 125 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki interview, Yury V., Minsk, April 6, 1997. 126 Ibid. 127 The report was signed under physical pressure. 128 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki interview, Yury V., April 6, 1997, which includes quotes from the court decision, Minsk, issued April 2, 1997. 129 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, Tatyana S., Minsk, April 4, 1997. 130 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, "A," Minsk, April 6, 1997. 131 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, anonymous demonstrator, Minsk, April 5, 1997. 132 Russkaya Mysl' (Russian Thought), Paris, July 3-9, 1997. 133 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, Sergei Martselev, Minsk, April 1, 1997. 134 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, Sergei Martselev, Minsk, April 1, 1997; Human Rights Watch/Helsinki interview, Pavel Karnazytsky, Minsk, April 1, 1997. 135 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, Serezha and Zhenya, Minsk, April 6, 1997. 136 Ibid. 137 Ibid. 138 OMRI, January 6, 1997. 139 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki interview, April 2, 1997. 140 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki interview, April 6, 1997; see also OMRI, February 13, 1997. 141 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki interview, April 3, 1997. 142 OMRI, February 13, 1997. 143 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki and Memorial interview, Yury Khodyko and Vyacheslav Sivchik, Minsk, March 31, 1997. 144 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki interviews with Olga Dolgopolova, Minsk, April 3 and 17, 1997