14 persons might face up to 3 years of prison, charged for ‘organization and active participation in the actions that grossly violate the public order’. They all participated in the peaceful demonstrations organized by entrepreneurs in Minsk at the beginning of this year. Human rights activist warn about a new wave of political repressions. (16-MAR-08)
Based on www.spring96.org, Photos: www.nn.by
Belarusian government passed the range of orders in accordance with which many of the social benefits for students, retired persons and children were canceled at the end of 2007. It also created a legal basis abandoning sole entrepreneurs as the class in Belarus. The President’s order # 760 left without means huge amount of persons dealing in small-scale business sphere. In accordance with this order beginning with January 1, 2008 sole entrepreneurs are disentitled to hire on employees besides immediate relatives (not more then 3 persons). All the attempts of the entrepreneurs’ leaders to negotiate with authorities have failed. As the result, social protest took place all over the country. Hopeless entrepreneurs held strikes of many thousand participants in Minsk. Authorities were not ready for the citizens to fight back for their social rights.
Criminal case of 14s
After the strikes on January 10 and 21, 50 participants were detained and brought to the police stations. Many of them were beaten by the policemen. 45 people were sentenced at the dates of 5 till 20 days or fines payment (equivalent amount of 160 to 530 Euros). The criminal case was brought under two articles of the Criminal Code: ‘Organization or active participation in group actions that grossly violate the public order’ and ‘Hooligan action, performed by a group of individuals or connected with resistance’. Criminal charges were given to 14 persons (http://spring96.org/en/news/20889/ see the whole name list here). The punishments on these articles vary from fine to 3 years of jail.
‘Dialogue’ with Europe
Human rights activists consider that the authorities try to simulate kind of dialogue with Europe. The main event was the cassation of the politically motivated verdicts to the youth activist Artur Finkevich and the journalist Aliaksandr Zdvizhkou, as a result of which both were released from jail at the beginning of the year 2008. The authorities also granted parole to the entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich and Yury Liaonau and the oppositional politician Andrei Klimau. However, there are at list 3 prisoners of conscience in Belarus. Despite the demands of the EU and the US the former candidate to president of Belarus Aliaksandr Kazulin remains behind bars (5.5 years of imprisonment). The youth activist Andrei Kim (accused of ‘Violence or threat of violence towards policeman’ and ‘Organization or active participation in group actions that grossly violate the public order’ – up to 6 years of imprisonment) and one of the entrepreneurs’ activist Parsiukevich are considerable as the political prisoners. 
International community’s reaction
On 21 February the European Parliament unanimously voted the resolution on Belarus calling the Belarusian authorities to release the political prisoners, guarantee the freedom of speech and hold free elections. The EU deputies welcomed the parole to the democratic activists and the permission to open a mission of the European Commission in Minsk. Nevertheless, the resolution also expresses a deep regret that the situation in the field of human rights, democracy and law supremacy in Belarus remains the same. The document reminds that the only conditions for development of relations with Brussels and admission of Belarus to the European political field are the 12 EU conditions for Belarus, voiced in November 2006. ‘The will be no concession for the Belarusian authorities till the trampling of human rights in the country is stopped. It is not enough for Lukashenka to release several prisoners in bargain with us,’ said the deputy of the European Parliament Elisabeth Schroedter in her interview with the Deutsche Welle.
