FIDH President addresses Lithuanian Prime Minister on Bialiatski's case



Arbitrary detention of Mr. Ales Bialatski, President of the Human Rights Centre "Viasna" and FIDH Vice-President, following the transfer of Lithuanian bank account details by the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice

Your Excellency,
 
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme
of the International  Federation  for  Human  Rights 
(FIDH)  and  the  World  Organisation  Against
Torture  (OMCT),  condemns  the  ongoing 
arbitrary  detention  of  Mr.  Ales  Bialatski, 
FIDH Vice-President and President of the Belarusian Human Rights Centre
"Viasna".
 
Mr.  Ales  Bialatski  was  arrested  on 
August  4,  2011  by  the  police 
representative  of  the Department of Financial Investigations. On
the same day, a search was carried out in his house. On August 5, 2011, Mr.
Bialatski was remanded in prison for ten days in the detention centre of the
Interior Ministry, which is known for its harsh conditions of detention and
where he remained detained as of August 10, 2011.
 
This detention is related to a criminal case opened against Mr. Bialatski for
supposed "tax evasion  under  Article  243, 
part  2,  of  the  Criminal  Code  of 
the  Republic  of  Belarus (“concealment of profits on an especially
large scale”), which provides for up to seven years' imprisonment with
confiscation of property.
 
As  you  know,  the  Belarusian  authorities 
were  able  to  open  this  case  on 
the  basis  of information related to Mr. Bialatski's bank account,
registered at DnB NORDs bank in Vilnius, Lithuania.  The 
Belarusian  tax  authorities  interpreted  the 
amount  on  the  account  of  Mr. Bialatski's as his
personal income and accused him of concealing it.  
 
In reality, this money, which was transferred by international organisations,
was by no means used  as  personal  funds  but 
to  finance  the  legitimate  human  rights 
activities  of  the  HRC "Viasna",  such 
as  assistance  provided  to  victims  of 
the  political  repression  in  the  post-electoral 
context.  It  is  indeed  only  because 
Belarusian  independent  human  rights organisations, 
including  the  HRC  "Viasna",  are 
confronted  with  systematic  refusals  of registration,
and because Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code of Belarus criminalises
activities “as  part  of  an  unregistered 
organisations”,  that  the  funds  dedicated  to 
the  human  rights activities of the HRC "Viasna" had to be
transferred on this Lithuanian bank account.
 
In Belarus, the legitimate use of these funds is in reality made illegitimate
by repressive laws aiming to silence civil society activities. The information
disclosed by the Lithuanian Ministry of  Justice  to  the 
Belarusian  authorities  could  therefore  lead 
to  further  judicial  harassment against Mr. Bialatski.
 
The  Observatory  deplores  the  fact  that 
this  case  could  be  brought  against 
FIDH  Vice-President and HRC "Viasna" President on the basis of
information that was provided by the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice to the
Belarusian authorities.

We are appalled by the fact that the Ministry of Justice of Lithuania, a
member-State of the European  Union  (EU),  did  not 
consider  the  safety  of  Mr.  Bialiatski 
before  facilitating  the transfer of information of his Lithuanian
bank account to the authorities of Belarus.
 
While taking note of the recent announcement by your Ministry of Justice of the
suspension of  its  legal  assistance  to 
Belarus  in  this  case,  the  Observatory 
strongly  regrets  that  by transferring  this 
data,  Lithuania  directly  put  a  Belarusian 
human  rights defender  at  risk,  in breach of the EU
Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, which provide on the contrary that the 
aim  of  the  EU  and  its  member-States 
is  -  inter  alia  -  to 
"effectively  work  towards  the promotion and protection
of human rights defenders in third countries".
 
Considering the responsibility of the Republic of Lithuania in these tragic
developments, the Observatory:
 
-  is asking you which steps and demarches have been taken by your
Government to contribute  to  the  unconditional 
release  of  Mr.  Bialatski,  whose  arbitrary 
detention manifestly aims at sanctioning his human rights activities;
 
-  is calling on you to urgently put in place safeguards to prevent
similar incidents in the future, and to ensure the safety of human rights
defenders both in Lithuania and in third countries.
 
The  Observatory  recalls  that  Mr.  Bialatski 
has  always  acted  in  accordance  with  the
provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted
by the UN General  Assembly  on  December  9, 
1998,  which  state  that  "everyone  has 
the  right, individually and in association with others":  
 
-  "to  promote  and  to  strive  for 
the  protection  and  realization  of  human 
rights  and fundamental freedoms at the national and international
levels" (Article 1);  
-  "to  form,  join  and  participate 
in  non-governmental  organizations,  associations  or
groups"  and  "to  communicate  with 
non-governmental  or  intergovernmental organizations" (Article
5(b) and (c));
-  "to offer and provide professionally qualified legal assistance or
other relevant advice and  assistance  in  defending 
human  rights  and  fundamental  freedoms" 
(Article 9.3(c));
-  "to  solicit,  receive  and  utilize 
resources  for  the  express  purpose  of 
promoting  and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms through
peaceful means" (Article 13).
 
We  express  our  sincere  hope  that  you 
will  take  these  considerations  and  requests 
into account and we thank you in advance.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Souhayr Belhassen     Eric Sottas   
FIDH President           OMCT
Secretary General