Political prisoners to stand trial behind closed doors?

Condition of Mikalai Autukhovich, who was on 90-day hunger strike in the Minsk detention center, is “steadily bad”. Information appeared that he will stand trial behind closed doors.

Human rights activist Aleh Vouchak told this at a press conference in Minsk on July 28.

“Autukhovich is recovering after the hungry strike. He drinks juice, he will be able to eat porridge in ten days,” Vouchak said.

According to Aleh Vouchak, the authorities are going to have a closed trial over the Vaukavysk entrepreneur and “hide from the public and Europe appearing new political prisoners.” The human rights activist is convinced the investigation doesn’t have proofs of Autukhovich’s guilt of terrorism and other crimes, and “this will become obvious at an open trial”.

Alyaksandr Kamarouski, one of the heads of the organizing committee on creation an association of Afghan War is his public activity. “He refused to accept a medal to Afghan war veterans and said the authorities don’t help the Afghan war veterans. The authorities didn’t like this position,” Kamarouski said.

As Yulia Mikhnyuk, daughter of another Vaukavysk entrepreneur Yury Lyavonau, told at the press conference, her father “feels OK”. “I visited him on June 4, he looks well. But he’s lost 10 kilograms of weight in the detention center,” Mikhnyuk said.

Another detained in this case, Uladzimir Asipenka, has faced problems with sight, his daughter Lyudmila Asipenka says. “His sight has deteriorated at least by one diopter. He also faced problems with teeth, they began crashing due to chlorinated water. I asked if he could go to doctor, but father said doctors in detention facility don’t render dental aid. When one applies for medical aid, they just remove a tooth. So he didn’t go the medical unit,” Lyudmila Asipenka said.

Belarusian human rights activists are going to find out on what grounds German expert Martin Finke got acquainted with the materials of the case of Mikalai Autukhovich.

As we have already informed, the OSCE Office in Minsk received a request from the Belarusian MFA rendering aid to the government in “searching an independent legal expert specializing in criminal and criminal procedure legislation of the Eastern European region to examine the case”. The OSCE Office proposed Martin Finke as a famous international expert in criminal and criminal procedure legislation.

The specialist visited Minsk on June 8–10 and made a conclusion on the case of entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk Mikalai Autukhovich, Uladzimir Asipenka, and Yury Lyavonau. The expert said the case against them is being investigated without legal violations, and concerns of human rights activists over the political character of the case are groundless.

“As a former procuracy investigator, I admit – I am puzzled. I can’t say who invited him. How did the Belarusian side participate in this visit? Who paid for his visit? Why is it forbidden for lawyers to get acquainted with the materials of the case, but officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, OSCE officials can learn the case through the report of Finke? Is Finke a real OSCE expert or did he come in Belarus as a private individual?” Aleh Vouchak says.

According to him, an appropriate request will be sent to the OSCE Office in Minsk, the OSCE central office and the European Commissioner for Foreign Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner to receive answers to these questions.

Autukhovich, Lyavonau, and Asipenka were detained on February 8, 2009. On February 18, they were charged under article 218 of the Criminal Code (intentional destruction of or damage to property of citizens). The three entrepreneurs are now in pre-trial detention center #1 in Minsk.

Autukhovich was on hunger strike from April 16 to July 16 demanding to send the case to court or to change the measure of restraint for all detained from custody to release on own recognizance.

On July 17, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus issued a statement saying “on June 23, 2009, the main preliminary investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus instigated a criminal case under article 359 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (a terroristic act) as preparing (article 13 of the Criminal Code of Belarus) against Autukhovich M. and other persons.”

Human rights activists consider the detained to be political prisoners drawing attention to the fact that Autukhovich and Lyavonau were convicted before and found prisoners of conscience by the international community.