The leader of the youth organization “Young Front” Zmitser Dashkevich was sentences today to 1.5 year of imprisonment because of “acting on behalf of unregistered organization”. The cruel verdict has been passed in a closed trial by a judge Ala Bulash. Belarusian civil society expresses the active protest against the tough sentence and the existing of this Criminal Code article as such. (1-NOV-06)
Based on www.spring96.org
Illustrated by www.svaboda.org, www.nn.by
10 criminal cases against “Young Front”
Belarusian KGB Terrorism Struggle Department and Republican prosecutor’s office brought more then 10 actions against the acting on behalf of “Young Front” unregistered organization in spring 2006, at the time of the Presidential electoral campaign. “Young Front” is the youth political organization. All the criminal cases were closed besides Zmitser Dashkevich’s one, 25-years-old co-chairman of the organization.
Zmitser was arrested on September 15 and in a week indicted for acting on behalf of unregistered organization (Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code).
“Freedom to Dashkevich” campaign
The same day, September 21, “Young Front” members have begun the holding of the republican campaign “Freedom to Dashkevich”. They hung out “Freedom to prisoners of conscience” banners, spread leaflets with Zmitser portrait, made pickets and bagged subscriptions. Well-known public activists, politicians and the representatives of clerisy added their names to the subscriptions list- 1300 in all.
Close trial in close country
The trial over Zmitser has begun October 30. The trial is closed for the public. The judge, Ala Bulash, does not explain the reasons of that.
Human rights watchdogs are exasperated- “Firstly, Dashkevich is indicted for violation of Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code (acting on behalf of an unregistered organization). That violates his constitutional right to freedom of association. Secondly, they close the trial not let the journalists and public observe it – just as they used to do it during the times of Stalin. We believe the case is important for the whole society and should be open for public. We suspect the authorities do that in order to hide the details of the police working methods, that they put pressure on the activists and interrogated dozens of young people. Again we demand immediate release of Dashkevich and believe that the prosecution is politically-motivated”.
Hundreds of people near the court building
Anyway, several hundred people gathered near the court building to support Zmitser. Young people held Zmitser’s portraits and chanted a slogan “Freedom to Dashkevich!” The activists organized a protest action against the trial. Young people in Young Front T-shirts, with their hands behind their heads, walked in circle in front of the court building as prisoners do. The police showed no reaction and just observed the protest.
Reporters (including TV cameras of Russian channels) and representatives of foreign embassies joined Zmitser’s friends near the court building.
The article “activities on behalf of unregistered organizations” appeared in the Criminal Code in the run-up to the presidential elections in Belarus 2006. According to observers, it emerged solely for pressure on public activists and human rights watchdogs. They consider these articles roughly violate Belarusian citizens’ right for associations, contradict Belarusian constitution and covenant on civil and political rights.
Zmitser’s case is not the first “political legal process” under this article in Belarus. Four activists of the civil initiative of elections observation “Partnership” have been already convicted under it. Two of them Tsimafei Dranchuk and Mikalay Astrejka are serving the sentence now. They have been sentenced to one and two years of imprisonment respectively.
