By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MINSK, Belarus – Following the crackdown after the December 2010 elections in Belarus, reported here, an EU human rights watchdog was recently expelled from Belarus.  Additionally, a local human rights organization’s office was raided by police and the director detained, in addition to police raids of several activists’ homes.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has maintained an office in Minsk since 1998 in order to provide assistance to the government in Belarus in developing civil society and the economy.  A positive report by the OSCE on the conduct of the election was to be an essential factor in determining whether Belarus will receive EU financial aid.  However, the OSCE called the recent elections “flawed” and accused the government of fraud, in addition to criticizing the police crackdown on opposition supporters following the election.

Last week, many believe as a result of the election criticism, the OSCE was asked to leave Belarus.  Andrei Savinykh, Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman, said in a statement that “an evaluation of the results achieved by the OSCE mission in Minsk shows that the mission has fulfilled its mandate.”

This contention, however, has been strongly denied.  The chairman of the OSCE, Audronius Azubalis, responded by saying, “[i]ts mandate has not been completed,” and  “[t]here is an important job for the O.S.C.E. to continue in Belarus.”

On Wednesday, police raided the office of the Belarus Helsinki Committee, which is according to the Associated Press “an independent group whose name refers to the principles of the 1975 Helsinki Accords that were the precursor of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.”  The police seized computers from the Helsinki Committee office and detained the director, Oleg Gulak.

The Belarussian police on Thursday conducted raids on the homes of several political activists.  They seized computers, phones, cameras, memory cards, and printed material such as organization member lists.

These events are all part of a continuing crackdown that followed election day, when almost 700 opposition supporters were arrested following mass demonstrations which were broken up by a violent police shutdown.  Most of the people arrested faced 5 to 15 days in jail, followed by firing from their work or expulsion from school.  The opposition presidential candidates that have been charged face up to 15 years in jail.

This comes after many within European circles had hoped the election in Belarus would be conducted in concert with EU ideas of freedom and democracy, and had been prepared to reward such actions.  As Reuters phrased it, “Brussels had dangled the prospect of financial aid if the election demonstrated at least a veneer of democracy.”

A closer Belarussian relationship with the EU seems unlikely now.  As Guido Westerwelle, German Foreign Minister,  said in a statement, “[t]he decision to shut down the OSCE office is a further setback for the rule of law and human rights in Belarus.  With its authoritarian course, the government in Minsk is leading the country further away from European freedom values.”

For more information, please see:

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Activists In Belarus Fear School Expulsions, Firings – 7 Jan. 2011

NAVINY – New KGB raids over post-election protest – 6 Jan. 2011

NEW YORK TIMES – Belarus: Police Raid Rights Group Office – 5 Jan. 2011

AP – Belarusian human rights group reports police raid – 5 Jan. 2011

NEW YORK TIMES – Belarus Ejects European Watchdog Agency – 1 Jan. 2011

REUTERS – Belarus throws out EU watchdog after election – 1 Jan. 2011

BBC – Belarus closes down OSCE office after poll criticism – 31 Dec. 2010

By Ricardo Zamora

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Former Yukos Oil company executives Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev have had their previous eight-year prison terms lengthened to fourteen year.  The new rulings, handed down by Moscow’s Khamovnichesky district court on December 30, 2010, indicate a politically motivated trial and showcase continuing corruption within the Russian judicial system, said Human Rights Watch.

Arrested in 2003 for tax evasion and fraud, both men were scheduled to be released in 2011 and were eligible for parole beginning in 2007. The new charges, including theft and embezzlement, were brought in February 2007 when both men approached parole eligibility on their original sentences.  The December 2010 ruling, however, moves back their release date until 2017.

“The sentence is a blow to the rule of law in Russia,” said Rachel Denber, acting Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.  “Everything about the charges and the trial indicates that the case against them is political.”

Amnesty International reports that several procedural violations were tolerated during the trials including defense lawyers being unable to cross-examine witnesses and defense witnesses prevented from taking the stand.  Additionally, authorities have pressured and harassed former colleagues to testify for the prosecution and the courts have failed to order the prosecution to disclose procedural irregularities which violated the defendants’ rights to prepare their cases.

Russia has a motive for retaliating against Khodorkovsky.  One of the young tycoons who amassed a fortune in the early 90s after the former Soviet Union’s collapse, he took a stand against Putin’s government, challenging state control over exports and funding opposition parties.  He became a thorn in Putin’s side and Putin, now only Russias prime minister, nevertheless remains Russia’s most powerful man.

“All evidence points to a pattern of political motives and interference having obstructed justice in this case,” said Nicoal Dockworth of Amnesty International.  “The Moscow City Court must overturn this unfair conviction to restore faith in the independence of Russia’s legal system,” she added.

Several human rights groups have urged Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to call on prosecutors to drop the charges, citing several flaws in the charges, concern over the court’s tolerance of serious procedural errors, and evidence suggesting the government intimidated, harassed, and beat several individuals connected to the case.  In response, Russia has accused those groups, the EU, and the US from trying to influence the outcome of the case and has warned the West to mind its own business.

Malaysia Sun – Irregularities and Obstruction of Justice Marred Khodorkovsky Trial Says Amnesty International – January 3, 2011

Human Rights Watch – Russia: Khodorkovsky Sentence Spotlights Unfair Trial – December 30, 2010

Reuters – Russia Accuses West of Meddling in Khodorkovsky Trial – December 28, 2010

By Ricardo Zamora

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KYIV, Ukraine – Migrants and asylum seekers, including children and the elderly, face torturous practices and arbitrary detention at the hands of Ukrainian border officials and police, said Human Rights Watch in a recent report.  The inhuman practices include the use of electric shocks to “round up” those apprehended at the country’s borders, lack of access to the asylum procedure, food deprivation, detention of children, corruption and more.

The report, “Buffered in the Borderland: The Treatment of Asylum Seekers and Migrants in the Ukraine,” reveals the Ukraine’s failure to live up to its obligations under an agreement with the EU which came into effect on January 1, 2010.

For example, Ukraine has not taken the initiative to close major legal gaps in its laws.  One of the legal gaps does not provide for the protection of those who flee generalized violence and war or for trafficking victims.  Such loopholes are not just inconsistent with the point of the agreement, but also contradict the EU charter of fundamental rights.

Under the agreement, the EU provides financial assistance to the Ukraine to assist in the development of acceptable treatment towards refugees and asylum seekers.  While the report concedes that some conditions in detention facilities have improved, it notes that Ukraine continues to subject many individuals to inhuman and degrading treatment.

The report also criticizes the EU for returning third-country nationals who enter the EU from Ukraine back to Ukraine to face such inhuman treatment.  The report notes that the EU’s financial assistance does not absolve its member states of their obligations under the EU charter of fundamental rights to provide access to proper asylum procedures and not to return people to face torture or ill-treatment or of the EU members’ responsibilities toward unaccompanied children.

“The EU should suspend its readmission agreement until Ukraine demonstrates its capacity to provide a fair hearing for asylum seekers, to treat migrants humanely, and to guarantee effective protection for refugees and vulnerable individuals,” said Bill Frelick, Refugee Program director at Human Rights Watch.

“Buffeted in the Borderland: The Treatment of Asylum Seekers and Migrants in Ukraine” is available at: http:/www.hrw.org/node/94366

Ukrainians.ca – Ukraine: Migrants and Asylum Seekers Tortured. Mistreated – December 19, 2010

PressTV – Report: Migrants Abused By Ukrainian Guards – December 18, 2010

Reuters – Migrants Returned by EU to Ukraine Face Abuse: HRW – December 16, 2010