belarus executive summary - US Department of State

BELARUS 12
presidential decree prohibits NGO members who are lawyers by training from
representing individuals other than members of their organizations in court. The
government’s disbarment of at least nine attorneys who represented political
opponents of the regime limited defendants’ choice of counsel in high-profile
political cases.
Those charged in connection with the December 2010 demonstrations had very
limited access to lawyers, and authorities did not allow any of the detainees to meet
in private with their lawyers at holding facilities. Some lawyers openly stated that
authorities obstructed their seeing clients. For example, attorney Tamara
Sidarenka, who represented presidential candidate Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, was
allowed only two visits with her client over the course of 50 days. She reported
that lawyers were required to wait in line outside of the KGB detention center and
often were sent away after being told that no meetings rooms were available.
Courts often allowed information obtained by use of force and threats of bodily
harm during interrogations to be used against defendants.
Defendants have the right to appeal court decisions, and most defendants did so.
However, appeals courts upheld the verdicts of the lower ones in the vast majority
of cases, including in all criminal cases in connection with postelection
demonstrations.
Between March and May, more than 50 opposition leaders, including six 2010
presidential candidates, their aides and campaign staffers, activists, and
independent journalists were put on trial or faced charges for allegedly organizing,
leading, or participating in “mass disturbances,” or in activities that “violated
public order.” Independent observers and human rights advocates concluded that
prosecutors failed to present any credible evidence of criminal acts by the
defendants, and guilty verdicts in these politically motivated trials were largely
based on fabricated testimony by prosecution witnesses. Local and international
human rights groups alleged that authorities orchestrated a “storming” of the main
government building as a pretext for a broader crackdown on civil society, political
opposition, and independent media. The prosecution’s witnesses for all trials were
approximately 30 police officers who purportedly were injured during the
demonstrations, although observers noted numerous discrepancies in the medical
records presented by the officers in court. Independent trial observers reported that
witnesses gave scripted (and nearly identical) testimony at the various trials but
often failed to appear in court for subsequent hearings, citing illness or vacation.
Videos shown in court were edited extensively.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor