Archive of Charter'97 (1998-2002)

ILHR urges Lukashenko to cease harassment of Schukin and Obodovsky

International League for Human Rights, authoritative international human rights organization, addressed president Lukashenko, demanding that he cease any politically-motivated persecution of the Supreme Soviet deputy Valery Schukin and son of the prominent Mogilev human rights defender S.Obodovsky Dmitry.

Dear Mr. Lukashenko,

The International League for Human Rights, an international, non-governmental human rights organization with consultative status at the United Nations, is writing to express deep concern about the police attack on Valery Schukin, a 13th Supreme Soviet Deputy and an independent journalist. In addition, criminal proceedings have been started against Schukin, charged with "malicious hooliganism" under Article 339 of the Penal Code. This is the latest in your government's series of attacks against this outspoken journalist and human rights activist.

On January 16, 2001, Schukin was turned away from the press-conference given by Vladimir Naumov, Belarussian Interior Minister. Despite Schukins press ID and the Law On Press and Other Media, which allows free access to such press-conferences to all journalists, police spokesman Bykov said the event was open only to state-run media. The police then detained Schukin at the entrance to the building where the press-conference was to take place, knocked him to the ground, and twisted his arms behind his back. While trying to subdue Schukin, the policemen accidentally broke the entrance door, made of glass. As a result, Schukin received several deep cuts to his body. According to eye-witnesses, Schukin lost a significant amount of blood during the twenty minute interval before the ambulance arrived, lying on the ground while the policemen continued holding his arms.

For the past four years, the government has targeted Schukin on numerous occasions for his active stand against the crack-down on the basic rights and freedoms in Belarus. These attacks culminated on April 24, 2000, when a trial began over Schukin and Statkevich, chair of the Belarusian Social-Democratic Party (Narodnaya Gromada) for their participation in Freedom March. Both men pled not guilty. On June 19, 2000, Judge Igor Krot of the Minsk City Court sentenced Schukin to a one year suspended term under Art. 168, para 3, of the Belarusian Criminal Code. The League joined the international community in its strong condemnation of the sentences, considering them to be politically motivated and designed to weaken the opposition forces before the parliamentary elections on October, 2000.

The League believes that the beating of Schukin and the charges brought against him are a serious attack on press freedom and constitutes a violation of international law. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides the right to " seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." The League has long been disturbed by your administrations systematic crackdown against independent journalists and all persons critical of your governments policies. We urge you to take steps to improve the media climate in your country and to ensure that the rights of independent journalists are guaranteed. We also call on you to stop all harassment of Valery Schukin, a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet, Belarus' only legitimately elected parliament.

The International League for Human Rights is likewise concerned about the criminal case against Dmitry Obodovsky, the son of Sergei Obodovsky, an opposition activist. Dmitry has been held in detention for the past year and a half. Dmitry was arrested on July 20, 1999, and has been held in pre-trial detention since then. He was initially charged with rape and then later with two cases of theft, all charges which he denies.

Although Dmitry was acquitted of one theft, he was sentenced to six years in prison for allegedly stealing a pair of shoes. At the present moment, the case has been forwarded for re-examination. The judge has repeatedly denied the defenses request that Dmitry be released during his trials. The latest refusal to release Dmitry came from Ivan Gorodkov, who is the chief investigator in Dmitrys case, despite the new Penal Code, which came into force on January 1, 2001, and which prohibits keeping the suspect in pre-trial detention for a period longer than 18 months.

The League fears that the charges against Dmitry Obodovsky may be in retaliation for the opposition activities of his father, Sergei Obodovsky, the director of the Mogilev Human Rights Center and a lawyer at the Mogilev branch of the Free Trade Union. Dmitry was arrested just after Sergei was elected to the opposition electoral commission of the opposition-organized presidential elections in the spring of 1999. Sergeis other two sons have also faced harassment in the past two years. One was forced to seek political asylum in Poland, while the other, a student at the Mogilev State University, has faced charges of computer hacking (komputernoe khuliganstvo).

The League urges you to immediately cease harassment of Sergei Obodovsky and his family for his opposition and trade union activities. More specifically, the League calls on you to release Dmitry from detention during the ongoing investigation, ensure that he has access to lawyers of his choosing and that any future trial proceeds in an open and fair manner.

Thank you for your attention. We await your response.

Sincerely,

Catherine Fitzpatrick, Executive Director

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