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Belarusian Patriots Appeal To UN

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Belarusian Patriots Appeal To UN

The Human Rights Committee will consider the complaint of the defendants in the “White Legion case”.

The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) registered a complaint of former defendants in the case of the White Legion Viktar Danilau, Andrei Dundukou, Viktar Marozou, and Siarhei Strybulski.

According to the human rights website spring96.org, “against the backdrop of the Non-Parasites Marches, the government launched repressive practices in 2017,” the report says. “The toughest of them is the resonant case of the White Legion, which was led first by the KGB and then by the Investigatory Committee.

In the framework of this case, Danilau, Dundukou, Marozau and Strybulski, along with many others, were accused of preparing riots and creating an illegal armed group.

One and a half dozen accused, including the aforementioned four, spent about one hundred days in custody each. As a result, their guilt was not proven, the case was dismissed due to the lack of corpus delicti.

Danilau, Dundukou, Marozau and Strybulski tried through the court to achieve rehabilitation and compensation for moral damage, but they were refused. Having exhausted all legal remedies at the national level, the four defendants in the White Legion case appealed to the HRC.

According to the applicants, the state violated their right to liberty and security of person, the right not to be subjected to torture, the right not to be compelled to testify against oneself, the right to defense, and the presumption of innocence.

The complaint also refers to gross violent detention, lengthy pre-trial stay in custody, for which there was no reason, and the state's refusal to provide compensation for this.

In addition, the applicants point out the abusive screening procedures that every prisoner in the KGB detention center undergoes, which can be regarded as ill-treatment, and that they were kept in a cell without sleeping places and toilets, which contradicts the rules for the treatment of prisoners.

Danilau and Dundukou argue that during the first days after the arrest, lawyers were not allowed to visit them, and at the same time, KGB officers constantly called them and incited them to self-incrimination.

Danilau also alleges a violation of the presumption of innocence and interference in private life, since he was the target of state propaganda and the main “hero” of television news and the film “The White Legion of Black Souls,” which falsely claimed his allegedly illegal activities (extremism, possession of weapons) , which was not confirmed during the investigation.

The applicants ask the HR Committee to acknowledge the violation of their rights and the obligation of the state to make a public apology, as well as to pay compensation for non-pecuniary damage and property losses that were not provided at the national level. In addition, Danilau, Dundukou, Marozau and Strybulski are asking the HRC to oblige the state to prevent similar violations in the future.

According to human rights activists, all the materials of the case were sent to the Belarusian authorities. Within six months, the state must provide an answer to the HRC on the merits of the complaint of the former defendants in the White Legion case.

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