Judicial harassment of Leanid Sudalenka and Anatolii Poplavnyi, members of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”

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URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

BLR 001 / 0317 / OBS 027

Judicialharassment

Belarus

March 16,2017

The Observatory forthe Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in thefollowing situation in Belarus.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory hasbeen informed by reliable sources about the judicial harassment of Messrs. LeanidSudalenka and AnatoliiPoplavnyi, members of the Gomel chapter of the Human Rights Centre“Viasna”.

According to theinformation received, on March 17, 2017, Leanid Sudalenka and AnatoliiPoplavnyi will appear before the Central District Court of Gomel on charges of“participation in unsanctioned protests” (under Article 23,34 of the Code ofAdministrative Offences) after participating in peaceful demonstrations thattook place on February 19, 2017, in Gomel where nearly 4,000 citizens took tothe streets to protest against Presidential Decree No. 3 "on the preventionof dependency on social aid" which in violation of international humanrights law sanctions unemployment by imposing a penalty ranging from a feeto imprisonment on Belarusian citizenswho have worked less than a certain number of days[1] (seebackground information). If found guilty as charged, both face an administrative fine up to 350euros or risk being placed in administrative detention for up to 15 days.

In addition, Mr.Leanid Sudalenka has drafted and submitted to courts more than 200 complaintson behalf of citizens against the provisions of the Decree in response tonotifications that citizens received in the beginning of the year 2017 urgingthem to pay the fee. Mr. Leanid Sudalenka was also the first lawyer bringing asuccessful claim against the fee, setting a precedent for approximately half amillion Belarusians who received a notification to pay a fee to the State. As aresult, he was publicly named by the authorities the “lawyer of spongers”.

TheObservatory thus believes that the judicial harassment against Messrs. LeanidSudalenka and Anatolii Poplavnyi is a retaliation of their legitimate andpeaceful human rights activities.

TheObservatory urges Belarusian authorities to put an end to all forms ofharassment, including at the judicial level against Messrs. Leanid Sudalenkaand Anatolii Poplavnyi and to uphold international human rights standards towhich Belarus is bound with respect to freedom of assembly.

Background information:

In April 2015,President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenka signed Decree No. 3 “on theprevention of dependency on social aid” as a means to “stimulate employment”.This Decree violates international human rights law as it imposes fines andimprisonment as a sanction for unemployment[2].

The Decree requirescitizens to work more than 183 days a year or to pay a special duty to financegovernment expenditures. As provided by Decree No. 3, non-payment or partialpayment of such a levy entails administrative responsibility in the form of afine or administrative arrest. Thus, stimulation of employment is soughtthrough forced employment and the threat of short-term imprisonment rather thanthrough the implementation of competitive salaries, social benefits andguarantees.

It should be notedthat the Belarusian authorities have been actively practicing forced labour,which has repeatedly provoked criticism from both Belarusian and internationalhuman rights organizations[3].

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Belarus, urging them to:

i. Put an end toany form of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Messrs.Sudalenka and Poplavnyi;

ii. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychologicalintegrity of Messrs. Leanid Sudalenka and Anatolii Poplavnyi as well as allhuman rights defenders in Belarus;

iii. Comply with all their international obligations torespect the exercise of the citizens' right to peaceful assembly;

iv. Comply with theprovisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, inparticular with its Articles 1, 2, 5 and 12.2;

v. Ensure in allcircumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordancewith international human rights standards and international instrumentsratified by Belarus.

Addresses :

· President Aliaksandr Lukashenka, Belarus, Fax: + 375 172 26 06 10 or +375 172 22 38 72, Email: contact@president.gov.by

· General Prosecutor, Alexander Konyuk, Belarus, Fax: + 375 17 226 42 52

· Minister of Justice of Belarus, Mr. Oleg Slizhevsky, Email:kanc@minjust.by, Fax: + 375 17 200 86 87

· President of the Supreme Court of Belarus, Mr. Valiantsin AlehavichSukala, Belarus, Email: scjustrb@pmrb.gov.by

· Administration of the Central District Court of Gomel, Tel/Fax: +375 23277 68 77, Email: centr-gomel@court.by

· H.E. Mr. Yury Ambrazevich, Permanent Mission of Belarus to the UnitedNations in Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 748 24 51. Email:mission.belarus@ties.itu.int

· H.E. Mr. Aleksandr Mikhnevich, Embassy of Belarus in Brussels, Fax: + 322.340.02.87, Email: belgium@mfa.gov.by

Please also write to the diplomaticrepresentations of Belarus in your respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva, March 16, 2017

Kindlyinform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in yourreply.

The Observatory for the Protection of HumanRights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is tointervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu , the European Union Human RightsDefenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergencyline:

E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

Tel and fax FIDH + 33(0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

Tel and fax OMCT + 41(0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

[1] Protests against the Presidential decree erupted in thecities of Gomel, Brest and Mogilev at the end of February 2017 to expressmassive public discontent with the Decree’s provisions. See “Online from thespongers’ protests” (in Belarusian), Belsat TV channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMitNEg1EGU

[2] See FIDH Press Release, “New presidential decree in Belarus uses fines andimprisonment as a means to "stimulate" employment”, April 15, 2015, https://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/belarus/new-presidential-decree-in-belarus-uses-fines-and-imprisonment-as-a

[3] See FIDH-HRC "Viasna" Report, “Forced Labor and the PervasiveViolation of Workers’ Rights in Belarus", December 2013: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/belarus/forced-labor-and-the-pervasive-violation-of-workers-rights-in-belarus