belarus executive summary - US Department of State

BELARUS 16
By law persons who obstruct law enforcement personnel in the performance of
their duties can be penalized or charged with an administrative offense even if the
“duties” may be perceived as illegal. “Obstruction” could include any effort to
prevent KGB or law enforcement officers from entering the premises of a
company, establishment, or organization; refusing to allow KGB audits; or denying
or restricting KGB access to information systems and databases.
The law requires a warrant before, or immediately after, conducting a search;
however, the KGB and riot police entered homes, conducted searches, and read
mail without warrants. The KGB has the authority to enter any building at any
time, as long as it applies for a warrant within 24 hours after the entry. There were
credible reports that government agents covertly entered homes of opposition
activists and offices of opposition groups and monitored the actions of individuals.
In numerous instances authorities searched residences and offices for apparent
political reasons.
Following the December 2010 postelection protest, authorities raided the offices
and homes of hundreds of opposition leaders, democratic activists, independent
journalists, and civil society organizations across the country during two months or
more. In most instances police seized electronic equipment and paper files. For
example, on January 5, the KGB raided the offices of the BHC and seized
computers and servers. KGB officers also searched the residence of BHC Director
Aleh Hulak. On January 14, on the basis of allegations that the office was used
during Sannikau’s presidential campaign, police raided the Minsk-based offices of
the independent Trade Union of Electronic Industry Workers for more than five
hours and seized computers. On January 19, police raided the offices of the Center
for Human Rights and seized three computers; the KGB concurrently searched the
apartment of the center’s chairwoman, Raisa Mikhailouskaya.
Security forces continued to target prominent opposition and civil society leaders
with arbitrary searches and interrogations at border crossings and airports. For
example, on July 2, Stanislau Shushkevich, leader of the Hramada Social
Democratic Party and former head of state, and a group of 12 students from the
Vilnius-based European Humanities University, were taken off a train and detained
for more than six hours at the Lithuanian border. Border guards detained the
students on suspicion of drug smuggling, photographed them, and warned against
participating in unsanctioned protests. Border guards did not give Shushkevich
any explanation for his detention. All were released without charge.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor