Belarus after the 9 August Presidential Elections

The report focuses on constitutional reform, tortures and a

buse of p

ower against t he v

ulnerable

groups (children and foreigners), judicial process in the courts and p olitical y m

otivated criminal

liability in extremism cases, digital freedoms as wel as sport and human rights.

We regard these topics as crucial chal enges for human rights in Belarus. Unfortunately, little attention is paid to these topics in human rights reports.iven the importance of these topics we have prepared the review.

Report prepared by:

Human Constanta

Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial Brussels

Article 19

Introduction

3

Constitutional reform

4

Court procedures and extremism cases

6

Court procedures (Fair trials)

6

Prosecution for extremism (administrative and criminal cases)

7

Human Rights violations of the vulnerable groups

9

Foreign citizens

9

Serious violations of the rights of the child

10

Political y-motivated criminal prosecution of children

11

Detention of children during the protests and torture of children-detainees

11

Right to family and guarantees of non-separation with parents

14

Interference into education process

16

Digital freedoms

17

Nationwide internet shutdown on August 9-12, 2020

17

Local shutdowns of mobile internet services (3g/4g) in August

18

Online content blocking

19

Registration of online media

19

Sport and Human Rights

20

Introduction

Belarus is a country of 9.5 mil ion people, located in the geographical center of Europe. When Alexander Lukashenko was elected president in 1994, he quickly turned into an authoritarian leader. The repressions and persecution for independent journalism, civil a ctivism and political

opposition have become wide-spread. In the last 26 years of Lukashenko's rule, several prominent politicians and journalists were kidnapped and disappeared while thousands have been imprisoned.

On August 9, 2020, Belarus went to the pol s to elect a new president. Al egations of widespread electoral fraud marred the election. Al opposition candidates have filed appeals to the Central Election Commission, cal ing for invalidated results. Most Belarusians did not believe the official results and took to the streets to protest peaceful y.

The mass protests which erupted in the evening of August 9 were mostly of a peaceful and spontaneous nature. The protests did not present any threat to public order, nor did the protesters have or use any weapons or auxiliary means (such as batons, sticks, etc.).

However, the police and military brutal y cracked down the protests with batons, rubber b ul ets,

and stun grenades. During the first three days of protests (August 9-11), over 7000 people al over the country were jailed, and then brutal y beaten, tortured, and even raped.

On September 1, the UN has official y confirmed over 450 documented cases of torture and il -treatment of people since August 9th.

Overal during the last 5 months more than 13 000 people were detained for participation in peaceful protests and not less than 300 criminal cases opened against citizens.

Despite the high number of complaints against police officers and the obvious facts of human rights violations by them, to date the authorities have not opened a single independent investigation into such al egations, nor have they initiated a single criminal case. Cases against the demonstrators on charges of preparing for or participating in riots and mass disorders are being actively investigated.

The US, EU, Great Britain, Ukraine, Canada, and others have issued official statements condemning violence used by the Belarusian government, as wel as human and voters’ rights violations. Mr. Lukashenko is not recognized as a legitimate president by the international community.

Recommendations

● Release al political prisoners, as wel as al persons accused of committing administrative and criminal offences related to the election campaign, election and post-election period;

● Investigate al cases of torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, and deaths of protesters that took place in the context o

f t he e

lection c

ampaign p

eriod and a

fter the elections and

other human rights violations and provide comprensations for victims;

● Prevent escalation between protesters and law-enforcement bodies by refraining from the disproportionate and unlawful use of special equipment and force against peaceful protesters.

Constitutional reform

The 1994 Constitution was a

mended twice by r

eferenda in 1996 a

nd 2

004. Mr. L

ukashenko has

already stated the intention to change the Constitution in March 2

019 .1 H

owever f rom t hat t ime

no c

lear i nformation w

as p

ublished. Some o

pposition representatives announced t he w

il ingness

to return to the 1994 Constitution.2 No real discussion or consensus exists in the Belarusian society on this topic.

On 3 October at Belarus1 channel it was announced that the work on changes to the Constitution has started, the Parliament is on work and citizens can participate and send their proposal to the Parliament.3 The proposals need to be submitted no later than the end of October. No other public information is available about this process.

According to the legislation, changes to the Constitution may be adopted by the Parliament or by referendum. Sections I "Fundamentals o

f t he C

onstitutional System", II "Personality, S

ociety,

State", IV "President, Parliament, Government, Court" and VIII "Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and the procedure for its amendment" can be changed only through a referendum.

The constitutional referendum may be initiated by the President, the Parliament and not less than 450 000 voters (with no less than 30 000 from Minsk and each region). Further the president appoints the referendum within two months from time of initiative.4 And it should be conducted not earlier than three months after the appointment decree.5

The president decides over legal power of the referendum as obligatory or consultative. There are no criteria or rules for such a decision. The president has the power to decline the referendum question in case of contradiction to the Election Code and other relevant 1 Aleksandr Lukashenko announced the preparation of the new Constitution.

2 Viktor Babariko proposed to conduct a referendum on the return to the 1994 Constitution.

3 https://news.tut.by/economics/702688.html

4 Article 117 of the Election Code.

5 Article 74 of the Election Code.

legislation.6 When the referendum is initiated by voters the questions need t o pass e xpertise i n

the Ministry of Justice and General Prosecutor. There are no terms for such expertise.

To be adopted the constitutional change should be voted by more than 50 per cent of the registered voters. Previous changes to t he Constitution a

dopted by r

eferendum c

an be c

hanged

only by referendum. In case of failure at the initiation stage, it i s possible t o r epeat t he a

ttempt

not earlier than i n a

year. If r

ejected b

y v

oters t he r

eferendum o

n t he s

ame i ssue is p

ossible n

ot

earlier than in three years.

The parliament can vote on the constitutional changes based on Presidential initiative or on citizens’ initiative (not less than 150 000).7 The parliament has to vote twice by a qualified majority of two-thirds within an interval of not less than three months to adopt the changes.

Parliament is not authorized to adopt constitutional changes during a state of emergency and the last six months of its term.

The underlying principle of a democratic State is that the people have the right to self-determination as it is defined in both International Human Rights Covenants.8 This article means that the people of a country should be the owners of the constitutional reforms.

Participatory and inclusive processes are considered a standard in the present-day Constitution-making process.9 The UN HRC has stated that the citizen’s right to take part in public affairs includes constitutional processes. It has also recognized that the requirements of this right are met as long as important groups in society are represented and can participate.10

The Constitution directly approved by the referendum is one of the best solutions for this.

Participants should be able to articulate their views freely and communicate with each other without impediments from the government. It is important that their opinions and views are considered in the framework of clear p

rocedures, p

rovided those r

esponsible f or o

verseeing the

process are fair and impartial.11

6 According to article 112 of the Election Code the fol owing questions cannot be considered at referendum: which may cause violation of the territorial integrity of the Republic Belarus; related to the election and dismissal of the President, appointment (election, dismissal) of o fficials w

hich n

ormal y fal s

within the competence of the President and the parliament; on the adoption and amendment of the budget, the establishment, amendment and abolition of taxes, fees (duties); about amnesty, about pardon.

7 Article 138 of the Constitution

8 Articles 1 of ICCPR and of the International Covenant of Economic a nd S

ocial R

ights p

rescribe t hat “

al

peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”.

9 National ownership should include “the official actors, political parties, civil society and the general public”, and “human rights defenders, associations of legal professionals, media and other civil society organizations, including those representing women, children, minorities, indigenous peoples, refugees, and stateless and displaced persons, and labour and business” should be given a voice i n i nclusive a nd

participatory constitution-making processes. Guidance Note of the Secretary-General: United Nations Assistance to Constitution making Processes (April 2009), p. 4.

10 Communication No. 205/1986, Marshal v. Canada (CCPR/C/43/205/1986).

Such conditions can only be created when standards of freedom of expression, including the right to communicate one’s opinion, freedom of speech and of media, freedom of association and assembly, are upheld. These rights need to be effectively protected. Those who wish to participate in the constitutional process need actual y b

e i n t he p

osition t o do s

o, f or e

xample b

y

communicating their views through the media, the Internet or other means, by campaigning for their proposals in public meetings and by having the freedom to associate with others. Where possible, the authorities should facilitate these actions.

Final y, procedures should be put in place to enable those who feel excluded from the p rocess

or claim that their rights have been abused to resort to remedies that should help them to restore their rights and provide redress. Most of these conditions are not i n p lace in B

elarus f or

this moment.

Recommendations:

● Authorities should openly and clearly announce rules and procedures for constitutional reform;

● The ways of participation in constitutional reform for different groups should be clear, effective and inclusive;

● Possibilities for broad genuine public discussions should be ensured by authorities and facilitated;

● Special drafting committee should be created transparently. Representatives of not only state institutions should be within this committee as a minimum requirement. It should work transparently and accept proposals from different stakeholders. Consideration should be given for election of this body by the people;

● Without respect of these preconditions any voting on constitutional changes should not be recognised as legitimate;

● In case of referendum it should be administered by the new Central Election Commission as this one is compromised and has no trust from the society.

● Constitutional reform should be premised on recognition of primacy of international obligations of Belarus with regard to both the substance of the constitutional provisions and the process of enacting them.

Court procedures and extremism cases

Court procedures (Fair trials)

According to ICCPR (art.14) “Al persons shal be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge a

gainst h

im, o

r o

f h

is r

ights a

nd o

bligations in a

suit a

t l aw,

11 See HRC, general comment No. 25 (1996).

everyone shal be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law”. The National Legislation (Article 11 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on the Judiciary and the Status o

f t he C

ourt) a

lso e

nshrines t he p

rinciple o

f

publicity in the administration of justice.

However, after the elections it has b

een observed t hat t he district courts o

f M

insk and t he Minsk

region (Zhodina, Smalevichy, Barysau, etc.), and of cities Hrodna, Baranavichy, Drahichyn, Mahileu, Brest, Pruzhany and in o

ther c

ities, cases o

f a

dministrative offences for p

articipation i n

peaceful assemblies were considered and decided during the field sessions in the buildings of temporary detention centers, the center for isolation of offenders, pre-trial detention facilities, prisons (hereinafter - isolation wards). The court hearings were actual y held behind closed doors.

In the court buildings, only information about the hearings, the names of the judges, and the address of t he d

etention centers were provided. It was difficult t o g

et t o the court h

earings i nside

the detention centers due to “the regime object” status, lawyers were not al owed as wel and information about the results of the court hearings on the day of the trial was not provided.

Fol owing the results of the court hearings, many detainees got a long standing penalty of administrative arrest without a real opportunity to appeal the decisions (the detainees were not given paper and pens, there were no facilities to pay the fee and to take legal advice).

The non-admission of lawyers, who wanted to participate in the hearings, to the territory of isolation wards is a direct violation of the right to the defense provided for by the national legislation, as wel as international obligations of the Republic of Belarus.

Prosecution for extremism (administrative and

criminal cases)

Belarusian anti-extremist legislation began to actively develop a nd b

e a

pplied i n practice o

nly in

recent years. B

elarusian a

uthorities a

re using a

nti-extremism l egislation to “ silence s

ociety”. T

he

threat for free speech lies in the broad definitions of “extremist activities” and “extremist materials”. Under Belarusian legislation, e

xtremist activities i nclude “

degrading of n

ational honor

and dignity”. Such provisions are contrary to international standards of freedom of expression.

Against the background of gross violations of human rights during the election and post-election campaign, the Belarusian authorities began to actively use "anti-extremist legislation" for political persecution of dissent. The most common forms are criminal cases related to:

-

“mass riots” (Article 293 of the Criminal Code) - at the moment it is known about 98

persons detained under this article for the events of August 9-11, most of them have already been recognized as political prisoners.12

-

under article 361 of the Criminal Code “Cal s to actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus”, head of V. Babariko's headquarters Maria Kolesnikova, her lawyer Ilya Salei and lawyer Maxim Znak were detained.13

-

according to Article 130 of the Criminal Code (“Incitement of racial, n ational, r

eligious o

r

other social hostility or hatred, rehabilitation of Nazism”), blogger Pavel Spirin was detained - his film “Edge 2

019” w

as i ncluded i n t he R

epublican list o

f e

xtremist m

aterials

by the decision of the court of the Central District of St. Minsk on O

ctober 21, 2019, b

ut

only on September 4, 2020, he was detained in a criminal case and is in a pre-trial detention center in Zhodino. 14 15

It seems that this year, “counter-extremism” offences are prosecuted under criminal legislation instead of administrative one. Last year according to the official statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there have been fol owing number of “extremism” administrative cases:

“propaganda or public demonstration of Nazi symbols” (article 17.10) - 98 cases and

“dissemination of information containing cal s for extremist activity” (article 1

7.11) 1

26 c

ases. I n

2020, it is known about (only) at least 10 cases of such type, of which 4 were in the post-election period.16 It could be the case that most cases are not public and accused do not apply for legal support to human rights organizations.17

Recommendations:

● Lawyers should be al owed to take part in the judicial proceedings without hindrance, court proceedings should be public and open to anyone wil ing to attend. The rights of defendants’ for appeal should be ensured in any circumstances;

● The “counter-extremist” laws in their current form should be repealed;

● Article 130 of the Criminal Code should be revised to make it clear that this provision applies only to speech that amounts t o i ncitement to discrimination, hostility o r v

iolence -

which in turn requires the proof of intent to cause discrimination, hostility or violence.

While the list of protected characters may be legitimately extended (e.g. to include gender, disability, and sexual orientation), “other s

ocial a

ffiliation” should be r

emoved o

n

account of being too broad and unpredictable in its application; 12 https://spring96.org/be/news/99143

13 Article 293 of the Criminal Code was last used in relation to the action after the presidential elections on December 19, 2010, Article 361 - also in 2010.

14 https://humanconstanta.by/borba-s-ekstremizmom-v-belarusi-obzor-sobytij/

15 Article 130 of the Criminal Code criminalises “intentional acts aimed at arousing racial, national, religious or other social hostility or strife on the grounds of racial, national, religious, linguistic or other social affiliation as wel as intentional acts of rehabilitating Nazism. The ‘aggravating circumstances’

automatical y attract more severe penalties include use o

f v

iolence, a

buse o

f o

ne’s p

ublic o

ffice, a

cting i n

a group, and negligently causing death or other grave consequences. The penalties r ange f rom a

f ine t o

up to 5 years of imprisonment where such acts committed w

ithout a

ny o

f t he a

ggravating c

ircumstances.

The maximum penalty under this provision is 12 years of imprisonment.

16https://humanconstanta.by/obzor-borby-s-ekstremizmom-v-belarusi-za-aprel-iyun-2020-vypusk-3-na-fon e-vyborov-i-covid-19/

17 More information about the practice for 2018 and early 2019 in the report "Countering extremism and human rights: National anti-extremist legislation and law enforcement practice"

https://spring96.org/files/book/ru/2019_extremism_ru.pdf

● ‘Hate speech’ criminalised under Article 130 of t he C

riminal Code s

hould b

e m

oved from

the category of crimes against humanity to crimes against the individual. Irrespective of the formal categorisation, prison sentences should be envisaged only for the most serious forms of incitement to violent action.

Human Rights violations of the vulnerable groups

Foreign citizens

The authors of the report are a

ware that m

ore t han 6

0 c

itizens o

f a

t least 1

4 f oreign s

tates w

ere

detained on 9 August and on the fol owing days. Freedom of expression (article 33) as wel as freedom of assemblies (article 35) according to the constitution should be guaranteed to everyone including foreigners. The wave of detentions and arrests was fol owed by a wave of expulsions of foreigners from the territory of Belarus. At least 20 cases of foreigners subjected to d

eportation or expulsion f rom B

elarus i n c

onnection w

ith their a

ctual o

r a

l eged p

articipation i n

peaceful protests are known to human rights organizations.

The Belarusian legislation provides for several procedures of refoulement of foreigners: deportation, expulsion and extradition. The expulsion procedure, unlike deportation, is not part of an administrative process. Consequently, foreigners under expulsion procedure are not guaranteed with the appropriate procedural rights. Moreover, the established appeal procedure does not guarantee non-refoulement prior to filing a complaint.

Some foreign journalists were subjected to hidden deportation by r evoking t heir a

ccreditation i n

the Republic of Belarus. The revocation of a foreign journalist's accreditation m eans immediate

revocation of his press entry visa.

Another documented case is of a Russian citizen, who having been released from a t emporary

detention center, where he had been serving an administrative arrest, was subjected to immediate deportation.

In other cases known to the authors of the report, s

tate b

odies try t o comply w

ith t he p

rocedure

established by law and even notify foreigners about the time of consideration of the issue of their expulsion from the country. However, in one of the cases, the foreigner was notified one day in advance, thereby effectively depriving him of the opportunity to col ect the documents and certificates necessary for a positive resolution of his issue.

The authors of the report have repeatedly drawn attention to the problem of applying such a procedure as expulsion. The legislation contains a wide list of grounds for the expulsion of foreigners, which in fact al ows the use of this procedure in relation to any foreigner, even without any objective reasons for his expulsion.

The process of appealing against decisions on expulsion is complicated by the fact that many foreigners were not given documents on their detention and bringing them to administrative responsibility. Many do not know about their right to appeal against expulsion from Belarus.

That is undermining their right to effective remedy as prescribed b y paragraph 5

.10 o

f t he 1

990

OSCE Copenhagen Document.

The case of the citizen of Cuba, Roberto Kasanueva, who is denied the prolongation of the residence permit w

as d

ocumented by t he h

uman r

ights o

rganizations and reported i n t he m

edia.

Roberto was invited to the Migration Office a

nd r

equested t o sign a

d

ocument t hat he w

ould n

ot

take part in the political e

vents a

nd a

ctivities. W

hen he d

enied, t he m

igration o

fficer s

aid t hat his

residence permit would not be p

rolonged, a

nd t ook a

way h

is d

ocuments. H

owever, Roberto has

children in Belarus, works here and lives for more than 30 years.18 The similar situation took place with a student-citizen of Russia, who is expel ed from the country f or having t aken part in the student protests. He has been living in Belarus for more than 13 years, his mother and brother live in Belarus and he has no family members in Russia.19

The e

xpulsion i s a r

ight o

f s

tate b

odies, not an o

bligation, i n w

hich t he b

alance o

f t he i nterests o

f

society, on the one hand, and the rights of an individual and his family, on the other, must be observed.

Recommendations:

● Authorities should more careful y and deliberately make decisions on deportation or expulsion, to use expulsion as a last resort when there is a real threat to public safety;

● The expulsion of a foreigner in the interests of public order should be applied only in cases where there is a real threat to public order in connection with his stay i n B

elarus,

when other restrictive measures cannot be applied;

● Taking a decision on expulsion fol owing should be taken into account as extenuating circumstances, namely: the length of residence in Belarus, the presence of close f amily members - citizens of Belarus (taking into account the right to a family and the prohibition of deliberately breaking family ties), protection of children's rights, et.;

● Establish a judicial procedure for the expulsion of foreigners, as wel as enable the possibility of expulsion of a foreigner before the expiration of the appeal consideration;

● Establish in the legislation of the Republic of Belarus the obligation for state authorities to use expulsion / deportation only as a last resort when there is a real threat public safety, as wel as t ake i nto a

ccount mitigating c

osts: p

eriod of residence i n t he t erritory o

f

the Republic of Belarus

18 Belsat, Cubino-Belarusian designer is on the edge of being deported, he is looking for legal aid, 17

September 2020,

https://belsat.eu/ru/in-focus/belarussko-kubinskomu-dizajneru-grozit-deportatsiya-i-on-ishhet-pravovoj-po moshhi/

19 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “This is for you for the coffin”, A student from Russia is deported, despite his family lives in Belarus, 16 September 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30841747.html

Serious violations of the rights of the child During August-September 2020, the law enforcement authorities, as wel as prosecutor’s o ffice

and child welfare services committed serious violations of the rights of the child, including violence against children, torture and inhumane treatment of childre-detainees, political y-motivated and falsified criminal prosecution, forced separation from families and intervention in education.

Political y-motivated criminal prosecution of children

At least one case of the political y-motivated criminal prosecution of a child is known.

16-year-old Mikita Zalatarou (Nikita Zolotarev) is arrested and suspected o f h

ooliganism (

part 3

art. 339 o

f t he C

riminal C

ode o

f Belarus). A

ccording t o t he p

olice o

n A

ugust 10, 2020 M

ikita was

running after a policeman with a Molotov cocktail. Mikita’s parents deny that, and tel that on August 10, 2020 Mikita was at the location of the protests, waiting for his friend at the bus station. His father assumes that he could run away from the police, fearing detention and beatings. Mikita was a

rrested a

t home i n t he m

orning of A

ugust 1

1, 2

020 w

hen h

is p

arents w

ere

at work. Mikita has epilepsy, and due to il ness he has home-based education. He could meet with his parents and lawyer, only at 17 p

m, before h

e was interrogated without them. Mikita t old

his mother that he had been beaten by police, and he felt very bad, and was taken to the hospital, to reanimation. However, the next day Mikita was taken back to prison. His father states that he managed to t ake p

art i n t he i nterrogation the next day, a

nd w

hen t hey w

ere a

lone

his son said about tortures and that he has been beaten every day. Nowadays, his parents denied meetings with him before the trial.20

Detention of children during the protests and torture of children-detainees On August 9-12, 2020 children, mainly teengers (12-18), were massively detained by law enforcement together with the other protesters and by-passers. Despite being o bvious f rom t he

appearance of the underage peaceful protesters that they have not reached 18 years yet and despite the mistreated minors trying to inform the authorities that they are under 18, the police and special forces, acting these d

ays with especial c

ruelty and even sadism, h

ave been b

eating

and torturing children.

One of the most widely-known and outrageous case is torture of Tsimur Mitskevich, 16-years old boy. He was detained on August 12, 2020 in Minsk, and on August 13 he w as h

ospitalized

from the detention centre with heavy injuries: traumatic brain injury, brain concussion, open 20 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “Father, I am being beaten every day”. In Homel a teenager is arrested since August, and being accused of hooliganism, 30 September, 2020

https://www.svaboda.org/a/30866854.html

fracture of maxil ofacial bones, numerous hematomas, injuries of eyes and others. Upon hospitalization he was put in reanimation and in a medical coma. According to his relatives, Tsimur was detained when h

e g

ot o

ff t he b

us. H

e w

as b

eaten i n a

p

addy wagon, a

nd t hen i n t he

police station. He said to the police that he was 16, but they did not react. According to his relatives the policemen put a baton down his t hroat a

nd f orced h

im t o sing, t he p

olice also used

the stun gun against him. Only when he felt very bad and started to suffocate a policeman cal ed an ambulance.21 Several weeks later the police recognized Tsimur as a suspect in the criminal case on mass disorder. On September 3, he was interrogated by the police without a lawyer or family members. The same day he was once again hospitalized from the police station. The investigation on the facts of torture o

f T

simur w

as n

ot i nitiated. O

n t he c

ontrary, t he

head of Hrodna regional administration and former minister of healthcare Uladzimir Karnik lied that T

simur w

as i ntoxicated, a

nd t hat’s w

hy h

e was hospitalized. T

he b

lood a

nalyses t aken u

pon

hospitalization after t he t orture d

id n

ot show any t oxic substances.22 I n addition, T

simur’s m

other

died at the end of September. The detention and torture of son deteriorated her state of health.

The other extremely brutal case was in the road i ncident p

rovoked by t he p

olice, a

nd w

here the

military vehicle crashed into an ordinary civil car, and in result a 5-year-old girl w as i njured a

nd

needed hospitalization.23

The other cases of torture and inhumane treatment of children on August 9-12 have been reported al around the country with the same testimonies of police brutality:

● In Hrodna, o

n A

ugust 12, Mikita S

idarovich (Nikita S

idarovich), 1

6, was d

etained, h

e w

as

beaten, threatened and humiliated during detention and in police station, later released;24

● In Homel, on August 13, a 16 years-old boy was hospitalized after he was severely beaten in the police station. He was detained when was waiting for the transport at the bus station;

● In Brest, on August 11, Raman, 15, was detained on August 11. He was kept in the garage because the detention centre was overcrowded, and severely beaten the whole night. He was released the next day. His f ather s

aid that t he n

ext d

ay a

t the hospital they

met a lot of other 15-16 years old teenagers in the same situation;25

21 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, A teenager, that was beaten and then in coma, is wanted for interrogation within criminal case on mass disorder, 3 September 2020

https://www.svaboda.org/a/30818920.html

22 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Karanik said that the beaten boy who was in coma, had drug intoxication. The documents demonstrates that this is not true, 27 August 2020,

https://www.svaboda.org/a/30804984.html

23 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “A face of a child was in blood”: in Hrodna 5-years-old girls was injured in the accident with “Tiger” military vehicle, 12 August 2020,

https://www.svaboda.org/a/30779705.html

24 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “We were marked with bril iant green and beaten”: 16-years-old teenager told how he was detained by OMON, 09 September 2020,

https://www.svaboda.org/a/30829322.html

25 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “They forced us to sing the anthem, who could not was beaten”: in Brest a teenager told about the torture, 13 August 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30781512.html

● in Pinsk (Brest region), on August 9, Dzenis, 16, was detained together with other peaceful protesters. During the detention, the police broke his a rm. H

e w

as h

ospitalized

only an hour later, when he lost consciousness26

● in Minsk on August 10, Miron Vitushka, 16, was detained, beaten, humiliated and threatened, released the next day. When his parents came to the police station t o l earn the whereabouts of their son, they both were detained and spent several days in detention.27

● In Minsk, on August 9, one teenager was beaten for al egedly throwing a Molotov cocktail. Then one of the OMON policemen (a special unit of Belarusian police) came and said that he had not. By that time, the boy was beaten so harsh t hat he w as b

arely

alive. He wet himself. The boy was thrown out of the patrol wagon.28

● In Borisov, on August 9, one of the detained minors w

as a

boy i n a

w

heelchair. T

he boy

was directly taken out by the OMON from the wheelchair, pushed i nto a b

us a

nd t hrown

on the bus floor. Subsequently, he was beaten on his legs as he was accused of lying that he is handicapped.29

● In Brest, on August 11, Nikolay (the name changed), 14, was stopped on the way from his English classes to his grandmother. He was detained and beaten because of the black hood that he had on. T

he p

rinted w

ord on t he h

ood, ‘ Antihero’, w

as f aulty t aken b

y

the law enforcement as a symbol of antifascists. He was threatened with death.30

The total number of minors detained and tortured is unknown, at least several dozens. Al of them experienced psychological and physical violence of different types and intensiveness.

Some of them were detained for a few days. Al the minors who went out from the detention center spoke as one that the police / the OMON were swearing at them, threatening and insulting. A group of arrested teenagers, and adults who were detained too, confirm that the minors, both male and female, were put on their knees in the corridors for many hours. They were beaten with fists and rubber batons.31 The father of a minor boy from Brest r eported that when his son asked to drink, he was offered urine. When he asked to cal a doctor, t he p olice

officer threatened him with a pistol that according to him would cure everything.32 The 26 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, A teenager told how the police broke his arm, did not cal to ambulance and did not al ow mother to him in Pinsk, 23 August 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30798290.html

27BuzzFeedNews, Belarus Is Detaining Thousands Of Peaceful Protesters. Many Are Tel ing Gruesome Stories Of Physical And Psychological Abuse By Police, 15 August 2020, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/belarus-protester-detained-police-abuse-lukashen ko

28 Tut.by, "The guards turned on Kirkorov for us." Famous director was beaten and his hair were dyed,

https://news.tut.by/culture/696879.html

29 RFI, New evidence of torture, 700 detainees - fourth day of protests in Belarus, 13 August 2020

https://www.rfi.fr/ru/

30 Online Brest, "They told me that I was a filthy anti-fascist, the guy's hair was cut off next to me": how minors were detained in Brest,

https://onlinebrest.by/novosti/mne-govorili-chto-ya-poganyy-antifashist-parnyu-ryadom-otrezali-volosy-kak

-v-breste-zaderzhivali-nesovershennoletnih.html

31 Human Rights Centre Viasna, Telegram Channel https://t.me/viasna96/2020

32 Brestskaya Gazeta, An employee of Gazoapparat on the arrest and beating of his son: “When asked to give him a drink, he was offered urine.”,

17-year-old boy was tied to a chair, beaten, threatened with a h uge p

enalty in prison. T

he o

ther

17-years old boy, Ivan, was attacked by the OMON on his way home. The security forces poured glue on Ivan's head and beat him with boots. They brought him t o the detention c enter,

put him on the ground, poured water over him.33 In Mahileu, a teenager was also brutal y attacked and beaten by the security forces. The specialists treating the boy said that he could have died. The boy was threatened with rape and with criminal prosecution, if he told who h ad

beaten him. When the boy in the hospital told the doctors, and subsequently the investigator about the beating by the security forces, he was informed that he would be imprisoned for 3

years, because he was told not to tel .34 Female minor detainees were also often threatened o f

being raped by a group of people or by using some objects. There have been unconfirmed cases of rape both of boys and girls. However, none was properly documented by the human rights organisations, as victims are afraid to speak up.

The incidents of detention of children with their parents or on their own a re d

ocumented a

lso in

September. On September 11, 2020, the General Prosecutor’s Office stated that m ore t han 2

00

incidents of participation of children in massive disorders, and more than 200 protocols were compiled.35 While the treatment of children is not so brutal, their fundamental rights are being violated. For example, on September 13, 2020 15-years-old Palina Kurs w as detained together

with her sister in Hrodna w

hen they w

ere going to t he z

oo-shop. S

he w

as i nterrogated w

ithout a

lawyer, parents, a social worker or a psychologist and was insulted and threatened.36 On September 28, 2020 in Novapolatsk Zoya Skvortsova was detained by police with a 4-year-old child because they were drawing with chalk at the pavement a picture of a house with white-red-white flag. They were driven to the police station, and later released.37

None of the mentioned about facts, including the most serious cases, have not been investigated by the law enforcement bodies. On the contrary, they threaten parents with deprivation of the parental rights and pressure them to keep silent and not to file complaints.

Right to family and guarantees of non-separation with parents In Belarus the state p

olice regarding c

hildren is d

irected a

t the r

emoval of a

child from the family

if there are any problems, instead of providing social support to the families. Decree No 18, https://www.b-g.by/news/rabotnik-gazoapparata-o-zaderzhani -i-izbieni -syina-na-prosbu-dat-popit-emu-pr edlagali-mochu-video/

33 Nasha Niva channel on Telegram, 21.08.2020 at 14h40

34 Tut.by, The doctors said: “another 2 mm and death”. A 19-year-old boy from Mogilev is in the hospital after being detained by militants, https://news.tut.by/society/697107.html?vk

35 Belta, The General Prosecutor’s Office initiate increase of liability of parents for unlawful behaviour of children, 11 September 2020,

https://www.belta.by/society/view/genprokuratura-initsi ruet-usilenie-otvetstvennosti-roditelej-za-protivopra vnoe-povedenie-detej-406423-2020/

36 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “Behind them our country is”. The underaged girl was detained in Hrodna and interrogated without parents, 17 September 2020 https://www.svaboda.org/a/30843970.html

37 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, A woman in Novopolotsk wil be tried for drawing a national flag at the pavement. She was taken to the police with 4-years-old child, 30 August 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30811212.html

adopted in 2006 provides that a child could be taken a way f rom t he f amily f or s

ix month w

ithout

court decision, if the social services recognize t he c

ondition i n w

hich t he c

hild l ives a

s a s

ocial y

dangerous situation. In six month, a child could be returned to the family, or i f t he s ituation has

not changed, the parents could be deprived of parental rights. However, the margin of appreciation taken by the government is very wide. The notion o f ‘social y d

angerous s

ituation’

is interpreted extremely broadly in the Belarusian legislation. Moreover, there is no judicial control over separation of families. This legislation has been criticized by human rights organizations and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.38 During the last two m onths,

the parents, whose children have been detained at the protests or who, themselves were detained or took part in the political and civil activities, are threatened with Decree No 18 and taking their children away from families.

In September, the representative of the G

eneral P

rosecutor’s O

ffice s

tated t hat t he p

articipation

of children in the demonstration would result in the administrative liability for their parents, including taking children away from families in accordance with Decree No 18.39 The Deputy Prime Minister stated that 280 cases of participation of children in the non-sanctioned demonstration are being under consideration, more than 100 parents r eceived warnings,40 and

26 parents have been already brought to the administrative liability. The Belarusian National Commission also stated the need for increasing liability of parents.41

At least, two cases are known when the Decree No 18 was used in relation to the protesters, however the separation of families continues just for several days:

-

Snezhkovy family, Homel. B

oth p

arents w

ere d

etained i n c

onnection w

ith t heir c

ivil a

nd

political activities - the father was arrested as a suspect in the criminal c ase, t he m

other

was arrested on administrative grounds. Two children were taken to the orphanage, despite two other adult siblings living together with them. After the trial, the mother managed to return children to the family.42

-

Lazarchuk family, Minsk. Alena Lazarchuk, the activist of the European Belarus initiative was detained, and once again, while there were adult siblings, A lena’s s

on w

as

taken to an orphanage. He spent two days there, and then he was returned to the family.43

38Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations on Belarus, 2020, para 25 -26

http://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2fPPRiCAqhKb7yhsng3QhcRV

Oo18YEahXg1g0FJuwmBoYaCZpwAR4rCCC4ZHA3LQ%2f3ORcdseLbECmStUlymRG5WkqL1goNtoTF

YBuk5f76TGhWZ7rv5lxelLx00

39 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, General Prosecutor’s Office: More than 200 protocols were composed on the facts of participation of children in mass disorder, 11 September 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30833705.html

40 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, The prosecutor office warned more than 100 parents for participation of the children in ral ies, it threatens to take children away, 14 September 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30837871.html

41 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “Maternity leave is not intended for women to attend ral ies” -

vice-premier, 24 September 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30855968.html

42 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, A mother of four, who husband was arrested and children were taken away was fined, 30 September 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30866136.html

The other violation of the right to family is arrests of mothers of minor children within administrative processes. In accordance with the Belarusian legislation women that have children, below the age of 18, could not be punished with arrest for administrative offence.

Being aware of that and intending to punish women somehow, the police detain women at the end of the week - on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, - for them to be left under arrest for the weekend, waiting for a trial. For example, on September 26, the journalist Maria Hryts was detained in Minsk, and was k

ept u

nder a

rrest for t hree d

ays, d

espite s

he h

as a d

aughter, w

ho is

less than 2 years old.44

The threat of the taking away children from the families and deprivation of parental rights is widely used by the law enforcement agencies in order to hinder investigation of crimes committed against children and to make adults stop participation in political and civil initiatives.

Interference into education process

Lastly, there have been several facts of i nterference into t he e ducation p

rocess a

nd i nstitutions.

On August 24, 2020, Alexander Lukashenko publicly announced that people who did not want to fol ow the principles of state ideology, should not teach in school. It violate s General Comment No. 1 of the C

ommittee o

n t he R

ights o

f t he C

hild: T

he Aims o

f E

ducation (

article 29),

(2001), that ensures c

hildren a

ccess to k

nowledge about h

uman r

ights standards, both i n t heory

and practice.

On September 13, 2020 in Gymnasium N

o 4

of M

insk t he p

olice o

fficer c

ame t o t he s

chool, a

nd

spoke with the high-school pupils, giving her interpretation of the situation in the country and also providing misinformation, also t hreatening c

hildren and prohibiting a

ssemblies to t hem. T

he

situation became known due to protests of the parents on such interferences.45

Recommendations:

● The Belarusian authorities must conduct the independent and effective investigation of each case of violation of the rights of c

hildren, to b

ring to r

esponsibility the state o

fficials

guilty of the above-mentioned crimes to responsibility and to ensure that those who suffered from the il egal and brutal actions of the law enforcement receive al kind of needed help

● The government should refrain from separation of children and their parents, and take measures to protect the right to family life, essential for children.

43 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “She was said that no one took a child away”. Two days later Alena Lazarchuk was returned her 6-years-old son, 19 September 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30847321.html

44 Naviny.By, A journalist Maria Hryts was released from Minsk detention centre, 29 September 2020, https://naviny.media/new/20200929/1601381456-zhurnalistka-mariya-gric-osvobozhdena-iz-minskogo-ce ntra-izolyaci

45 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, A lecturer from police spoke in Minsk gymnasium. The parents requested a meeting with the director, 14 September 2020, https://www.svaboda.org/a/30837634.html

● School-children in Belarus should have a ful access to education embodying human rights standards.

Digital freedoms

Nationwide internet shutdown on August 9-12, 2020

On August 9 2020, the day of the election, Internet access in Belarus was whol y or partly limited nationwide. Blockings were either total or concerned specific Internet services, web sites, social networks, messaging services, whether local or global. Internet measurements prove that since 18:00 UTC on August 8 a state-run telecom providers Beltelecom and National Center of Traffic Exchange have shut down six (100%)46 and 4 (80%)47 IPv6 uplinks accordingly. These two providers possess exclusive rights to terminate f oreign t raffic and t hus control internet connectivity for al other internet providers. It is al eged that the Belarusian authorities decided to block data transfer protocols (SSL/HTTPS, SSH, OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP) which led to the disruption o

f c

onnectivity o

f the B

elarusian n

etworks.48 A

l f oreign t raffic

was directed through one channel only in an attempt to al ow for deep-packet inspection making VPN services ineffective.

On August 9, media and users from al over the country reported l imited or no a ccess to m ajor global services such as Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, YouTube,49 Viber, Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Vkontakte. Independent experts further reported that the network connectivity in Belarus was down to 20% from the usual levels. The problems were encountered across al landline and m

obile service p

roviders. A

1, a

l andline a

nd mobile s

ervice

provider, t weeted t hat I nternet a

ccess would b

e r estored o

nce t he “superior p

rovider” ( entailing

the government) so decided.

Furthermore, access to a number of mass media web-sites was blocked by a targeted governmental action. Alternative online vote-counting system Golos became a target o f a

D

NS

spoofing attack. Its DNS was manipulated al egedly by government agents so that users were directed to a web-site that attempted to col ect the users’ personal data, including mobile phone numbers, which in Belarus are tied to identity papers.

In the evening of the election day, at approximately 9:30 p.m. Minsk time, major disruptions were recorded on the whole territory of Belarus. Its connectivity to o ther c

ountries w

as almost

non-existent in the evening. This major shutdown lasted until approximately 5:00 a.m. the fol owing morning, with service only being partial y restored. Belarus’ publicly-owned telecom 46 Beltelecom (Belpak network AS6697) uplinks August 8-13, 2020

https://radar.qrator.net/as6697/ipv6-providers#startDate=2020-08-05&endDate=2020-08-15&tab=current

47 National Center of Traffic Exchange (NCTE AS60280) uplinks August 8-13, 2020

https://radar.qrator.net/as60280/ipv6-providers#startDate=2020-08-05&endDate=2020-08-15&tab=current

48 https://netblocks.org/reports/internet-disruption-hits-belarus-on-election-day-YAE2jKB3

49

https://transparencyreport.google.com/traffic/overview?hl=ru&fraction_traffic=start:1596672000000;end:1

597449599999;product:21;region:BY&lu=fraction_traffic

provider Beltelecom and the National Traffic Exchange Centre stated that it was a DDoS

attack.

Smal er disruptions have continued since the election day. On Friday, August 14, 2020 a localised, hour-long internet disruption was registered in central Minsk. On Monday, August 17, 2020 a nation-wide internet disruption of approximately 15 minutes was observed50, coinciding with a Lukashenko meeting with factory workers. Depending on the development of the situation it is believed that further disruptions wil fol ow Local shutdowns of mobile internet

services

(3g/4g)

in

August

In addition to permanent blocking of access to foreign resources at the level of main traffic providers Beltelecom and the National Center of Traffic E

xchange B

elarusian u

sers f or the first

time faced another type of blocking - a complete shutdown of the Internet in the networks of mobile operators.

For three days, from August 9 to 12, in the evening, users of al three mobile operators - A1, MTS, life completely lost access to the mobile network.51 As a result, mobile internet was not available:

● 20:45 August 9 - 5:00 August 10

● 19:30 August 10 - 06:00 August 11

● 18:00 August 11 - 07:00 August 12

Shutdown occurred simultaneously in al 3 operators, raising al egations about the centralized nature of these actions. We assume that the operators' networks were disconnected at their uplinks.

None of the operators, A1, MTS and life, admitted that they had “turned off the Internet” in connection with the instructions of the law enforcement bodies.

50https://ioda.caida.org/ioda/dashboard#view=inspect&entity=country/BY&lastView=overview&from=1597

573860&until=1597746840

51https://ioda.caida.org/ioda/dashboard#view=inspect&entity=asn/42772&lastView=overview&from=15967

96260&until=1597401240

https://ioda.caida.org/ioda/dashboard#view=inspect&entity=asn/25106&lastView=overview&from=159679

6260&until=1597401240

https://ioda.caida.org/ioda/dashboard#view=inspect&entity=asn/44087&lastView=overview&from=159679

6260&until=1597401240

Mobile internet services were restricted also during mass protests on August 2152, 23, 26, 30

and this practice has become a weekly routine each Sunday in September. On August 21

mobile providers started to acknowledge that internet services are restricted due to governmental orders.53 According to our analysis Belarusian legislation does not have any provisions al owing to shut down or restrict Internet services except in an emergency situation, declared state of emergency or state of war.

Online content blocking

Based on the decision of the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus, access to 72

websites have been blocked, including websites of leading independent media and human rights organisations54

Unfortunately, the Belarusian legislation al ows such restriction to information. Legislation adopted i n 2014 a

uthorized the Information M

inistry to c

ompel internet p

roviders t o b

lock a

ccess

to websites without judicial review.55

In the run-up to the 2015 presidential election, amendments were introduced to the Law on Mass Media, extending restrictions on traditional media to online media, too. Consequently, owners of online outlets are responsible for any information they post, including on blogs and social n

etworks. U

nder the pretext o

f preventing p

ossible v

iolations, p

ublic a

gencies h

ave a

right

to limit access to websites upon the decision of a court of law or, in some cases even, without such judicial authorisation.

Registration of online media

Amendments to the Law on Mass Media in 2018 introduced a burdensome registration procedure for online media to be able to cover the government.56

Since 2018, online media organisations have to register with the Ministry of Information, which is al owed to request information a

bout p

eople c

ommenting o

nline, w

hile also reserving t he r

ight

to block any online content, even in the absence of a court decision.

52https://ioda.caida.org/ioda/dashboard#view=inspect&entity=asn/42772&lastView=overview&from=15980

92260&until=1598265240

https://ioda.caida.org/ioda/dashboard#view=inspect&entity=asn/25106&lastView=overview&from=159809

2260&until=1598265240

53https://www.a1.by/ru/company/news/o-rabote-mobilnogo-interneta-3g-v-minske/p/rabota-mobilnogo-inter

neta-3g

https://42.tut.by/697836

54 More details can be found in a report co-authored by Human Constanta: Belarus protests: From internet

outages to pervasive website censorship

55 http://pravo.by/document/?guid=12551&p0=H11400213

56 http://pravo.by/document/?guid=12551&p0=H11800128

Further, as per article 22.9 of the Administrative Code, media institutions (including online media) m

ay b

e f ined u

p to 2

00 b

asic units f or the dissemination of “

prohibited” information, w

hile

the Criminal Code broadly prohibits defamation and public insult. In cases where a media institution would cal for the obstruction of the lawful activity of state bodies, including of the Central Election Commission, such remarks may be considered extremist under the Law on Countering Extremism, while it is also forbidden for media to report on cal s to boycott elections.

In addition to these considerable limitations, widespread political pressure and criminal and administrative prosecution also have a negative influence on the working conditions for journalists in Belarus, with the country ranking 153rd out of 180 states in the 2020 Press Freedom Index.

Recommendations

● Limit the powers of the Ministry of Information on interference with the activities of the media, inter alia abolish the permit-based procedure for registration of print and online media, as wel as extrajudicial blocking of access to Internet-based resources.

● Exclude the possibility of arbitrary disabling or limitation of the Internet, which are not connected with emergency situations or martial law.

Sport and Human Rights

Even before the elections many athletes and people in the industry were forced to continue working despite the risk of being infected with COVID-19. The ministry, federations and clubs did not take systemic measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection - games and championships continued, there were no restrictions on attending matches. As a result, many people were infected, and the head of FC "Naftan" died.

On the election eve, the footbal championship games were canceled to prevent people from gathering at the stadiums. Even al amateur leagues in Minsk. After the elections, the state al egedly began to take measures against COVID-19 a

nd g

ave i nstructions t o sel n

o more than

25% of the seats in the stands, but this is primarily in order to limit the gathering of people for political reasons.57

Sport federations and clubs publicly emphasized the apolitical nature of sports, but numerous publications of information and appeals in support of Lukashenko appeared on the pweb ages and in social networks of the federations of footbal , hockey and others. Also, the leaders and representatives of the sports authorities (ministries, federations, clubs) informed t he a thletes f or

whom they needed to vote for.58

57 https://euroradio.fm/ru/v-minske-otmenili-futbolnye-matchi-na-7-i-8-avgusta 58 https://ua.tribuna.com/tribuna/blogs/hokkeyfootbal /2815805.html

Officials of the Sport Ministry, individual federations and c lubs continue t o i gnore Human Rights

violations.

Pressure on representatives of the sports industry, w

ho condemn violence a

nd e

xpress s

upport

for victims of Human Rights violations continued. An Open Letter which has already been signed by more than 650 athletes and industry workers with demands to the authorities has been published.59 F

or p

ublicly e

xpressing t heir o

pinion (

including s

igning the Open L

etter), many

sportsmen are currently under the pressure of dismissal, expulsion from the clubs, national teams, and are facing refusal of contracts, rent of premises for training.60

Many sportsmen are forced to leave the country. Sport clubs receive penalties and disqualifications from competition. The Fundamental Principles of Olympism in the Olympic Charter61 state that sport is a human right a

nd p

rohibit d

iscrimination of a

ny k

ind, Article 4 (

1) of

The European Sports Charter prohibits discrimination in access to sports facilities or sports activities on the grounds of sex, race, color, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, and birth or other status.62

For coverage of events in the industry and expression of solidarity, the popular sports media resource by.tribuna.com was included in the list of resources to which access was restricted in Belarus by the Ministry of Information, which is a violation of art. 19 of the ICCPR, freedom of expression.

Recommendations

● End pressure against athletes, as wel as sports clubs.

● Revise the legislation on peaceful assemblies in line with the requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as wel as the OSCE’s Guide- l ines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly.

● Stop pressuring Belarusian independent media, and unblock access to the websites of foreign and Belarusian media.

59 https://www.pressbal .by/pbonline/other/87900

60 https://www.pressbal .by/news/handbal /368496

61 https://www.olympic.org/olympic-studies-centre/col ections/official-publications/olympic-charters 62 https://web.archive.org/web/20180210223205/https:/rm.coe.int/16804c9dbb

Table of Contents

part 3

Introduction

Constitutional reform

Court procedures and extremism cases

Prosecution for extremism (administrative and criminal cases)

Human Rights violations of the vulnerable groups

Serious violations of the rights of the child

Right to family and guarantees of non-separation with parents

Interference into education process

Digital freedoms

Local shutdowns of mobile internet services (3g/4g) in August

Online content blocking

Sport and Human Rights