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BELARUS: Writers and journalists sentenced
PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) | 26 May 2011 RAN 35/10
The sentencing of writers and journalists detained in Belarus on 19 December 2010 following demonstrations against the flawed presidential elections has taken place. One of the five persons whose cases PEN is following,Dimitri Bondarenko,was given a two year prison term, while Irina Khalip, Vladimir Neklyaev and Aleksandr Fiaduta were all given two year suspended sentences for alleged participation in riots. The fifth, Pavel Severinets was sentenced to three years “restricted freedom”. While PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee welcomes the releases on suspended sentences, it regrets that these were not unconditional and calls for all restrictions to be lifted.It continues to call for the release of Dimitri Bondarenko.
The five are among a number of opposition supporters and activists who have been tried for their involvement in the demonstrations and who have received prison terms and suspended sentences. Among them areAndrei Sannikov,a former deputy foreign minister and co-founder of the Charter 97 group http://charter97.org/en/news/ who wassentenced earlier in May to five years in prison. He was considered the most prominent of the seven opposition candidates who stood for election. Two other former presidential candidates, Mikalay Statkevich and Dzmitry Vus, were sentenced today, 26 May, to six and five and a half years in prison respectively.
Dimitri Bondarenko,a journalist with Charter 97, and member of the opposition leader Andrei Sannikov’s campaign team was sentenced to two years in prison on 27 April. Originally charged with ‘organisation of riots’, this was subsequently changed to a charge of ‘participation of activities that disrupt the public order’ (under Article 342 of the Belarusian Penal Code).He was also ordered to pay a fine for damages to public transport. He had admitted taking part in the mass demonstrations but denied the other charges against him. His wife, Volha Bondarenko, recently expressed alarm about his physical well being after visiting him in jail, fearing that he may be confined to a wheelchair unless he gets urgent medical attention.
http://www.freebelarusnow.org/en/the-news/166-zmitser-bandarenka-may-become-disabled-in-prison-
Pavel Severinets,an opposition activist, author of several books, and a member of Belarus PEN was sentenced on 17 May 2010 to three years of restricted freedom without being sent to a correctional institution (so-called “chemistry”).
On 15 May 2011 Irina Khalipwas given a two year suspended sentence for her involvement in the demonstrations. Sheis a journalist for the Russian Novaya Gazeta and is married to Andrei Sannikov.Khalipwas severely beaten and arrested by police when giving an interview to the Russia radio station Echo Moskvy on 19 December 2011 and detained in isolation by the KGB for one month. She was charged with ‘organizing and participating in mass disorder’.
Vladimir Neklyaev,a writer, poet, former president of the Belarus PEN Centre, and was the Tell the Truth party’s candidate in the 2010 presidential elections, was also given a two year suspended sentence on 20 May 2011. He was arrested on 19 December 2010 and charged with ‘organisation of riots’. This charge was subsequently downgraded to ‘participation in activities that disrupt the public order’ (under Article 342 of the Belarusian Penal Code) for which he was convicted.
Alexsandr Fiaduta,an author, literary critic and member of Belarus PEN and a member of Vladimir Neklyaev’s Tell the Truth party, was also charged with ‘participation in activities which break the public order’ and given a two year suspended sentence.
For previous PEN alerts on this case clickhere.
For detailed coverage of events in Belarus visit:
The Brussels-based Office for a Democratic Belarus http://democraticbelarus.eu/taxonomy/term/65 run by Belarusian living outside the country
And Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that covers the Europe region http://www.rferl.org
Appeals should continue to be sent to the Belarusian authorities:
* Welcoming the releases of Irina Khalip, Vladimir Neklyaev, and Alexsandr Fiaduta while remaining concerned that their sentences were suspended and that they remain under threat of re-arrest;
* Protesting the two year sentence against Dimitri Bondarenko, accused of involvement in the demonstrations but where the charges are considered to be based on unfounded evidence and politically motivated.
* Similarly protesting the “restrictive freedom” levied against Pavel Severinets;
* Adding alarm at reports that Dimitri Bondarenko is at risk of permanent physical disability and seeking assurances that he is receiving appropriate medical attention while he remains in detention;
* Urging that all writers and journalists held by the authorities and under other forms of restriction for the peaceful practice of their rights to freedom of expression and association be freed immediately, and that a full and proper investigation be held into reports of ill treatment during the arrests in December 2010.
Government address:
President of the Republic of Belarus
Alyaksandr G. Lukashenka
Karl Marx Str. 38
220016 g. Minsk
Belarus
Fax: + 375 172 26 06 10 or +375 172 22 38 72
Email:pres@president.gov.by
Also via the Belarus government website:
http://www.president.gov.by/en/press10650.html
Similar appeals should be sent to the Belarusian Embassy in your own country.
Please contact the address below for update on this alert if writing after 30 June 2011.
For further information please contact Sara Whyatt at the Writers in Prison Committee ofPEN International, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (02) 20 7405 0338 Fax: +44 (0) 20 74050339 Email: sara.whyatt@pen-international.org
International PEN is trading as PEN International. International PEN is a company registered in England and Wales with registration number 05683997. International PEN is a registered charity in England and Wales with registration number 1117088. International PEN’s registered office is Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6ER, UK.
