Heating is Turned off in Mikalai Statkevich's Prison Cell in December!

December 12th, 2013

Prison No. 4, Mahilou, BELARUS

Heating batteries in the political prisoner's cell suddenly broke as cold weather settled in Belarus.

Radio Racyja learnt it from Maryna Adamovich, the wife of a former presidential candidate. According to her, heating in Mikalai Statkevich's cell and two neighbouring cells hasn't been working for more than four days.

“They say it was caused by a failure. I don't know much about heating systems, but I cannot imagine that a failure can affect only three cells. Mikalai said he had received an additional blanket. But he can use it only at night. They watch him during day hours and even tried to punish him for wearing wrong clothes,” she said.

Maryna Adamovich learnt from Mikalai Statkevich's letter about regular searched in his cell, also at night, which didn't happen before.

“They try to unbalance him with these mean things,” the political prisoner's wife says.
Mikalai Statkevich was a presidential candidate in the 2010 election. He was arresred after a protest rally against the fraudulent election on December 19, 2010. More than 700 protesters, among them presidential candidates Andrei Sannikov, Uladzimir Niakliaeu, Ales Mikhalevich and their team members, were arrested.

On May 26, 2011, Minsk's Partyzanski district court sentenced him to 6 years in a medium security correctional facility. Confinement conditions for Statkevich were strengthened last year. He was transferred from correctional colony No. 17 in Shklou to prison No. 4 in Mahilou.

One of his latest letters from prison was confiscated by a prosecutor's office. As it became known later, the politician wrote that political prisoners had received rape threats.

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 Mikalai Statkevich 

Mikalai Statkevich, 57, is a politician and former presidential candidate, who has been wrongfully detained as a result of his peaceful struggle for free and fair elections in Belarus. Prior to his arrest, Mr. Statkevich played an active role in Belarus’s pro-democracy political opposition.

In 1995, Mr. Statkevich became a member of the Central Rada and Executive Committee of The Belarusian Social Democratic Party and, after unification with the Social Democratic Party of Popular Accord, he became president of the newly created Belarusian Social Democratic Party. In 2003, he became the leader of the European Coalition Free Belarus, a political opposition coalition allied against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka.

Mr. Stratkevich was previously detained in 2005 and sentenced to three years in prison for staging public demonstrations protesting the official results of the 2004 parliamentary elections and a referendum lifting the constitutional limit on presidential terms. He was released from prison in 2007.

In 2010, Mr. Stratkevich ran as an opposition presidential candidate. Following the elections, on December 19, 2010, Mr. Statkevich joined thousands of protesters peacefully demonstrating against election fraud in downtown Minsk. Mr. Statkevich was one of hundreds of protesters arrested when police violently dispersed the protest. Following his arrest, he was placed in a KGB pre-trial prison, and later charged under Article 293.1 of the Criminal Code for “organizing mass disorder”.

On May 26, 2011, the Leninski District Court of Minsk sentenced Mr. Statkevich to six years imprisonment in a high security penal colony. At trial, no proof of violent attacks during the demonstration was presented.
At various times during his detention, Mr. Stratkevich’s communication with his family has been restricted and he has been threatened with new sanctions for violating prison rules. On January 12, 2012, a court sentenced Mr. Statkevich to even stricter confinement conditions, and he was subsequently transferred from penal colony No. 17 in Shklou to prison No. 4 in Mahilou for being a “malicious offender of prison rules”. In July 2012, he was also placed in a punishment cell for refusing to sign a confession. Mr. Stratkevich’s wife, Maryna Adamovich, attributes the tough measures against her husband to his refusal to apply for a pardon in protest of his innocence.

In December 2012, Mr. Statkevich was awarded the prestigious Willy Brandt Prize for his political courage. A number of organizations and governments including Amnesty International, the European Union, and the United States have called for Mr. Statkevich’s release.

Freedom Now represents Mr. Statkevich as his international pro bono legal counsel.
 http://www.freedom-now.org/campaign/mikalai-statkevich

From the Interview With Mikhail Marinich

(November 2006, Spain)

Mikhail Marinich - Doctor of Economics, in the past - Mayor of Minsk, former Minister of Foreign Trade of Belarus, former Ambassador of Belarus in Latvia, the Candidate in Presidents at elections of 2001. In 2004 has been condemned for 5 years of imprisonment on the forged motives. In prison has gone through an insult (injury to some parts of his body). Under the pressure of the European Community and the USA was released from jail in April, 2006. His short stay in Spain has caused some interest of the Spanish mass-media. Here are quotations from his interview to "El Mundo".

- How would you characterize the state model of management in today's Belarus?

- It is very difficult for me to discuss this topic. It is an authoritative system. The Office of Public Prosecutor, courts, militia, KGB, all state officials are practically controlled by the president. The parliament of last three convocations is illegitimate, the same is true about the president himself.

-What do you think about the future of the Republic of Belarus?

-My only hope is democratic changes through honest elections. All should have the right to participate in the elections: representatives of the authorities and opposition parties under the open control and support of international community, including Europe, Russia,and the USA, but Belarusians should make their own choice.

-Do you think is it possible in Belarus?

- It was possible in Ukraine when at huge national rise under pressure of the international public repeated voting has lead to a different result,
for example.

- But, you know, that the support by the international public of opposition can be considered as intervention in the internal affairs of the country.

- It is impossible to change the system without any democratic interventions. The present "legislative" situation in Belarus allows to the president to receive at elections or referenda the result necessary only to him and his team. Now all is in hands of executive authority. If tomorrow at elections 99 % of voices are required for the president, they will be. Here some criteria which are necessary for applying in Belarus: a cancellation of prescheduled voting, attraction to work in the selective commissions of representatives of different parties, discharge of executive authority from the elective process, equal access of all candidates to mass-media and so on.

Belarus Presidential Repressions 2006

Belarusian Human Rights Center "Vyasna" has presented the report "President of Belarus Election Campaign Repressions, 2006" in which shows the number of people, who was arrested days before elections, during mass protest actions against falsifications of the results of the elections and after elections.

Before the election campaign on March 19th, 2006 in Minsk 236 youth activists and people representing opposition candidates were penalized and arrested for a period from 4 to 15 days.

From the date of elections on March, 19th till March, 25th - 686 condemned in Minsk, about 50 condemned - in regions, from them only 5 penalties, other administrative punishments - arrests from 4 till 15 day.

Also, according to the Committee of Protection of the Subjected to Repression, 370 students have been excluded from educational institutions during the election campaign. All those students were subjected to repression not only for the participation in presidential campaign but also for taking part in the actions of protest demanding to release political prisoners in Belarus. Thanks to the opposition efforts all of them have an opportunity to continue education in high schools, colleges and universities of the other countries close to Belarus.

Here is the List of Sentenced Political Prisoners (condemned in Belarus on politically motivated criminal cases - leaders and the activists of opposition who are serving time in jails at present):

- Kozulin Aleksandr (5.5 years) - Professor, the former candidate for presidency, former Rector of the Belarusian State University has been sentenced to 5 and a half years in a minimum security prison on July 13, 2006 by the judge Aleksej Rybakov. The politician was arrested during a brutal disband of a peaceful rally on March 25 this year and is in jail now.

- Mikalay Astreyka and Tsimafey Dranchuk (1-2 years), were members of an independent election monitoring group, Initiative Partnership. They were sentenced by the judge Leonid Yasenovich on 4 August, 2006 to two years and one year imprisonment accordingly for their intention to observe the presidential elections in March 2006. Both are in jail now.

 


Here is the List of Sentenced Political Prisoners (condemned in Belarus on politically motivated criminal cases - leaders and the activists of opposition who are serving time in jails at present):

- Severinets Pavel and Mikola Statkevich (2 years). Pavel Severinets is one of the leaders of the youth organization "Malady Front" and Mikola Statkevich, leader of the Belorussian Social-Democratic Party (Narodnaya Gramada) took part in the events of October 18th and 19th, 2004 when thousands of people were protesting against falsified results of referendum to extend Lukashenko's governing and elections of a new parliament. They both were sentenced by the judge Leonid Yasenovich on May 31st, 2005 to two years of imprisonment.

- Klimov Andrey (1.5 years) - a former member of the dissolved Belarusian parliament. Police arrested him on 11 February 1998 for alleged fraudulent business practice. He spent over two years in pre-trial detention before being sentenced to six years imprisonment at a hard labour colony with confiscation of property in March 2000. After the dissolution of parliament he continued his criticism of the President, accusing him of violating the law and the constitution. Andrey Klimov was released in spring 2002 but was back in prison on June 10th, 2005 for taking part in the actions of protest in Minsk on March 25, 2005. He was sentenced by the judge Svetlana Gonchar to 1.5 years. Like most members of Belarus opposition Andrey Klimov is deliberately targeted by the Belarusian authorities to punish him for his opposition activities.

- Skrebets Sergey (2.5 years)- a former member
of the dissolved Belarusian parliament's group "Respublika" was arrested on May 15 2005 for alleged fraudulent business practice and sentenced to 2.5 years on February 14th, 2006.

- Finkevich Artur (2 years) - a youth activist was sentenced to 2 years in prison for a political graffiti on May 10th 2006 by the judge Victoria Zaitseva. Finkevich Artur was arrested on January 30th, 2006 for gaffiti "We Want a New President!" and "Enough is Enough!".

- Razumov Nikolay (3 years) - during the election 2006 compaign Razumov Nikolay was sentenced in Orsha on June 16th, 2006 by the judge Tatyana Rybakova to 3 years in jail for releasing the information that the president Aleksandr Lukashenko was involved in the involuntary disappearance and death of Yury Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, Dmitry Zavadsky and Gennady Karpenko.