By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
MISNK, Belarus — On Thursday, Belarusian opposition member Vasily Parfenkov was sentenced to four years in a high-security prison for taking part in the mass protest following the widely-disputed re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in December 2010. Parfenkov was convicted of breaking a window at the parliament building during the protest. Parfenkov denies damaging any property.
Mass protests occurred after the December 19th re-election of Lukashenko, spurred by reports of fraud and vote-rigging by independent observers. Hundreds of people were detained following the protests, and opposition leaders were arrested and their homes and offices were raided. Parfenkov, who campaigned for opposition candidate Vladimir Neklyayev, is the first opposition member to stand trial. 37 other opposition leaders and 5 presidential candidates have been charged with inciting mass riots and await trial.
Parfenkov’s trial lasted barely seven hours and the prosecution alleged Parfenkov and others caused damage to the parliament building totaling about $4,600. The prosecution initially asked for a six-year sentence. Parfenkov admitted to taking part in the protest, but said he did not break any windows or otherwise damage the building. In addition to being sentenced to four years in a maximum security prison, Parfenkov was ordered to pay $4,700 to compensate for damage and his part in, according to the judge, a “lawless mob.”
Rights activists said they had almost no access to the trial proceeding because police in plain clothes used most of the 40 available seats. Vesna organisation chief and rights activist Ales Belyatsky told the AFP that “[t]he court heard absolutely no evidence of there being any mass disturbances.” Belyatsky said, “[t]he accused admitted that he took part in an unsanctioned demonstration and pushed a wooden fence a few times.” Belyatsky further noted that “[t]hese crimes should be qualified as hooliganism [and h]e should have been sentence to 15 days in jail.”
In a separate development, the Justice Ministry revoked the license of four lawyers representing opposition activists for “gross violations.” The suspended lawyers are effectively barred from practicing their profession. The opposition activists who lawyers were suspended will now be represented by state-appointed attorneys. Garry Pogonyailo, a rights activists and former defense lawyer who lost his license, told the AFP that appointed lawyers “defend only formally, and very rarely show any enthusiasm.”
Parfenkov’s trial and sentencing has drawn sharp criticism from other countries and human rights organizations. The United States and European Union have spoken out against the continuing crackdown in Belarus, including shutting down human rights offices in Belarus as well as trying political prisoners. The US and EU have imposed sanctions, banning Lukashenko and 150 other Belarusian officials from 27 EU countries and freezing the assets of many officials. Poland has been particularly harsh in its criticism of the Lukashenko regime, and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski said on Sunday that his “country’s authorities will most favourably consider requests for political asylum by Belarussians engaged in pro-democratic activities.”
On Monday, the UN High Commission for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, spoke out against the trial and sentencing of Parfenkov “for exercising his right to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.” Pillay indicated that the length and condition of the pre-trial detentions of the other opposition leaders awaiting trials do not comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Pillay’s office has also received continued reports of intimidation and harassment of lawyers, journalists, and non-governmental organizations in Belarus.
Pillay stated, “I have stressed before to the Belarus Government and I shall say it again: States have a duty to protect human rights defenders, journalists and civil society from threats, retaliation or pressure stemming from the legitimate exercise of their work in defence of human rights.”
For more information, please see:
UN NEWS CENTRE — Belarus: UN rights official speaks out against sentencing of political opponents — 21 Feb. 2011
WASHINGTON POST — Trials begin for Belarusan protesters amid criticism — 20 Feb. 2011
REUTERS — Polish leader offers asylum to Belarus opposition — 20 Feb. 2011
IRISH TIMES — US condemns Belarus trials and imprisoning of protester — 19 Feb. 2011
AFP — Belarus sentences protester to four years in jail — 18 Feb. 2011
WSJ — Belarus Sentences Opposition Activist to Four Years in Prison — 17 Feb. 2011
AFP — Belarus tries opposition, suspends defence lawyers — 17 Feb. 2011
BBC — Belarus dissident Vasily Parfenkov jailed for protest — 17 Feb. 2011
