The WMD's Democracy Alert

From time to time, the World Movement for Democracy issues alerts concerning participants and other colleagues who are facing personal danger due to their work on behalf of democracy and for whom a vigorous response from around the world may be critical.

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May 4, 2005

Independent Belarusian Newspaper under Attack

On March 24, 2005, a number of uniformed and plainclothes police conducted an illegal search of the apartment rented by the Editor in Chief of the independent newspaper, Zgoda (Concord). The security forces refused to identify themselves, display a search warrant, or provide explanation for the search. Four computers and 17 collages of political cartoons were confiscated from the apartment. The prosecutor’s office is using the political cartoons, confiscated from a private residence, as grounds for a criminal case against the newspaper. The case is based on Article 368, part 1, of the Belarusian Criminal Code, “Defamation of the President of the Republic of Belarus.� The newspaper and its friends request your assistance in publicizing the information about this example of persecutions against the paper and free independent media in Belarus.
For more information on the case, read the statement below from Aleksei, Korol, Founder and Editor in Chief of Zgoda.

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REPRESSIONS AGAINST ZGODA:
THE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OF ANOTHER INEPENDENT NEWSPAPER IN BELARUS

In Belarus, "Europe's last dictatorship," the Lukashenka regime is attempting to close down another voice in the independent media. In Minsk, the Partizanski District prosecutor has begun a criminal case against the independent weekly newspaper Zgoda (Concord). The investigation was triggered by the confiscation of humorous posters that were displayed on the walls of an apartment rented by the paper's editor in chief, Aleksei Korol. The case is based on the infamous Article 368, Part 1, of the Belarusian Criminal Code, which covers "Defamation of the President of the Republic of Belarus."

On March 24, 2005, at 11 am, a detail of uniformed and plainclothes police conducted an illegal search of the apartment. The security services refused to identify themselves, display a search warrant or provide an explanation for their search. Four computers and 17 collages of political cartoons taken from the walls in the apartment were confiscated. The police videotaped the search, as well as the newspaper staff on the premises, barred them from making phone calls, blocked them from copying computer files, and failed to produce a legal protocol of their actions.

Mr. Korol, the paper's editor in chief, filed a motion to protest the illegality of the action and to request the return of the confiscated equipment. Despite obvious breeches of legal procedures, the Partizanski District prosecutor, V.G. Romanovski, responded by claiming that the police and special services involved in this "special operation" did not commit any violations. But what is most disturbing is that Mr. Romanovski believes that the mere fact that humorous political cartoons were found on the wall of someone's private apartment is considered grounds to launch a criminal case.

It is clear that a number of fundamental constitutional rights, as well as procedural norms under the Criminal Code that regulate the search and seizure of materials from residences, were blatantly violated in this case. Especially disturbing is the fact that the Prosecutor's Office which, under Belarusian law, is supposed to oversee the legality of police operations, in reality has closed its eyes to such illegal actions. It is increasingly obvious that Belarus' citizens have little hope of genuine legal recourse when their rights and interests are threatened.

The repression directed against Zgoda should be seen as only one example of a general policy of persecution that the Belarusian authorities are implementing to limit freedom of speech, eliminate independent media, and close down NGOs and political parties. This policy has been alarmingly escalated in recent months. But thanks to the professional solidarity of journalists and the assistance of civil society, Zgoda continues to publish.

Aleksei Korol
Founder and Editor in Chief of Zgoda
Minsk, Belarus
April 29, 2005

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