belarus executive summary - US Department of State

BELARUS 3
security or police officers brutally beat them either during their arrest or in
minivans and buses without license plates, or while in detention. For example, on
July 6 in Brest, police severely beat demonstrators; one person sustained a broken
finger and fractured ribs.
On December 19, unidentified individuals believed to be from the KGB arrested
three female Ukrainian activists protesting election fraud in Minsk. The activists
reported that they were abducted, taken to a forest, forced to disrobe, doused with
gasoline, and threatened with immolation. They were found by local residents at a
remote village near the Ukrainian border, treated at a local hospital, and returned to
Ukraine.
In December 2010 police used physical force and violence to break up crowds of
peaceful demonstrators following presidential elections; many were beaten and
more than 700 persons were detained, including seven opposition presidential
candidates. Scores of demonstrators and a small number of police officers were
injured. Before the polls closed, police stopped a group of protesters led by
presidential candidate Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu and a van carrying a sound system for
the demonstration. A group of unidentified men in black uniforms believed to be
special forces tossed stun grenades at the group. They beat Nyaklyaeu in the attack
and seized the sound equipment. Supporters took him to a hospital for treatment,
but unidentified men later abducted him from his hospital bed and held at the KGB
detention center. On January 26, Internal Affairs Minister Anatol Kulyashou
claimed that police officers were not involved in attack and beating of Nyaklyaeu,
his supporters, and foreign journalists. On August 10, the Prosecutor General’s
Office notified Nyaklyaeu that the government would not open a criminal
investigation into his beating.
Human rights advocates, opposition leaders, and activists released from detention
facilities continued to report torture and other forms of physical and psychological
abuse of suspects during criminal and administrative investigations. For example,
shortly after his release from the KGB detention center on February 28, former
presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich claimed that, as a condition of his release,
authorities forced him to sign a statement that he would assist the KGB.
Mikhalevich said that unidentified officers wearing black masks dragged him from
his cell, handcuffed him, twisted his arms, bent him to the floor, and forced him to
remain in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time.
According to Mikhalevich, KGB guards undressed prisoners and searched their
cells, while prisoners were forced to remain in a cold room and do physical
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor