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16 November 2000
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CAT
25th session
16 November 2000
Afternoon
Officials Deny Maltreatment of Political Opposition
and Demonstrators, Say Judiciary is Independent
Government officials from Belarus replied this afternoon to a series of questions from the Committee against Torture, saying, among other things, that charges of maltreatment of members of the political opposition in the country had been fabricated and that participants in political demonstrations in 1999 and earlier this year had not been inappropriately detained or improperly treated while in custody.
The three-member Government delegation also asserted that the country's judiciary was independent, despite allegations by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that judges and lawyers were under the influence of the President of the Republic and of his political regime. That senior judges were appointed by the President and could be dismissed by him did not mean they did not function independently, the delegation said.
Additionally, the delegation told the Committee that individual laws contained for the first time definitions of torture, although those definitions were not as exhaustive as that of article 1 of the Convention against Torture; that the maximum period of detention was 18 months, although the Supreme Court could extend that period for another six months; and that at all times detainees were allowed to contact legal counsel.
The questions were put by Committee members at a meeting Wednesday at which Belarus submitted its third periodic report on efforts to implement the Convention against Torture. Belarus is one of the 123 States parties to the Convention and under its terms must offer such regular accountings to the Committee.
The Committee is scheduled to issue its conclusions and recommendations on the report of Belarus at 3 p.m. on Monday, 20 November.
The Government delegation consisted of Alexander Ivanovsky, Deputy Attorney-General of Belarus; Vladimir Malevich, Deputy Permanent Representative of Belarus to the United Nations Office at Geneva; and Sergei Anoshko, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Friday, 17 November, to begin consideration of a third periodic report of Canada.
Discussion
The Belarus Government delegation, responding to questions put by Committee members, said, among other things, that individual articles of the Criminal Code and Code of Execution of Penalties contained for the first time definitions of torture, although these definitions were not as exhaustive as that of article 1 of the Convention; consideration would be given to adopting the Convention definition. Persons could appeal to the Procurators or courts on the basis of laws prohibiting torture, and there had been cases of punishment of officials found guilty of acts of ill-treatment. Detainees were allowed to see doctors; if complaints were filed, medical consultations were compulsory.
The maximum period of detention was 18 months, although the Supreme Court could extend that period for another six months. Throughout all periods of detention, detainees were allowed to contact legal counsel, the delegation said. A person could be held for 10 days without indictment, but after that an indictment was necessary.
Decisions on refoulement from Belarus could be appealed, the delegation said.
Over the last five years, a number of officials had been charged with maltreatment, including police officers and militia personnel, the delegation said, and those cases were being investigated.
Charges of persecution of the political opposition were based on fabricated events, the delegation said; nonetheless, the Government was prepared to investigate such cases, including the reported application of electric shocks. All persons were allowed to file complaints of maltreatment.
The Government of Belarus could not agree with allegations of maltreatment of political demonstrators in July and October 1999, or March 2000, the delegation said. All Governments were entitled to preserve public order, and these demonstrations could only be described as disrupting the peace. Legitimate criminal proceedings were brought against those organizing the demonstrations. Charges that political opposition members were held in cells with AIDS sufferers and other inappropriate company, and that juveniles involved in the demonstrations were beaten, were surprising allegations; AIDS sufferers were kept separately from other inmates, and juveniles were treated in keeping with humane international norms.
Specific cases mentioned involving two leaders of the political opposition did not take into account that these people were charged with criminal matters unrelated to their political positions, the delegation said. Alleged disappearances of political opposition figures were being investigated by the Government, but thus far nothing reliable had been discovered about the disappearances, and the delegation did not understand why the matter fell within the subject matter of the report of Belarus to the Committee.
The independence of the judiciary of Belarus was enshrined in the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure, the delegation said; to say that judges could not be independent because they were appointed by the President of the Republic was not, the delegation felt, substantial; among other things, judges, once appointed, could not be dismissed unless they were shown to be incapacitated in some way. Lawyers were not, as suggested by the Committee, dependent on the State for their work; they earned their salaries from their clients; they were not beholden to the State and it was not fair to say they did not function independently of the State.
Questions about freedom of the press seemed outside the concern of the Committee, the delegation said, but there were in fact numerous newspapers reflecting varying political opinions in the country, including the opinions of the political opposition.
Compensation could be granted for both material and moral damage caused to persons by maltreatment by public officials, the delegation said, and such compensation had been granted in various cases.
There was no gap, as alleged, between legal protections in Belarus and their application, the delegation said; if laws were not applied in isolated cases, the officials who had failed in their duty were held responsible.
Women prisoners were held in the country's lone women's colony, the delegation said; no instances of cruel treatment had been shown to have occurred there; only women were held in the colony.
There were no public executions in Belarus, the delegation said.
"Hooliganism" was defined as "gross violation of public order" involving force or the threat of the use of force, and hooliganism in no way applied to people in political demonstrations, the delegation said; if those holding demonstrations disrupted public order, there were legal measures to sanction those violations.
The situation of detainees was monitored constantly, the delegation said; at the stage of preliminary detention, detainees were held in investigative centres, and they were allowed to have medical treatment; on entry, they were allowed to ask for medical examinations. The prisons were overfull, the delegation said; every year now there were about 120,000 crimes committed, the continuation of a crime wave that had begun in the early 1990s; lack of resources made the construction of new prisons and detention centres difficult.
The Procurator-General and the Procurators under him were independent in their activities, the delegation said.
The death penalty did exist in Belarus, and a referendum on the topic in 1996 had shown that the public supported continued existence of the death penalty, the delegation said. Introduction of the sentence of life imprisonment had reduced the number of death sentences; four persons had been sentenced to death so far this year. There was a possibility of commutation of a death sentence to life imprisonment.
A special branch of the Procurator's office dealt with complaints from inmates and detainees, the delegation said; so far this year 752 such complaints had been received; of these, 88 had been satisfactorily resolved -- that is, the Procurator's office had taken action in response.
It was true that in some centres of detention there were no mattresses or blankets for detainees, the delegation said. The maximum period of detention in those locations was three days.
* *** *
25th session
16 November 2000
Afternoon
Officials Deny Maltreatment of Political Opposition
and Demonstrators, Say Judiciary is Independent
Government officials from Belarus replied this afternoon to a series of questions from the Committee against Torture, saying, among other things, that charges of maltreatment of members of the political opposition in the country had been fabricated and that participants in political demonstrations in 1999 and earlier this year had not been inappropriately detained or improperly treated while in custody.
The three-member Government delegation also asserted that the country's judiciary was independent, despite allegations by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that judges and lawyers were under the influence of the President of the Republic and of his political regime. That senior judges were appointed by the President and could be dismissed by him did not mean they did not function independently, the delegation said.
Additionally, the delegation told the Committee that individual laws contained for the first time definitions of torture, although those definitions were not as exhaustive as that of article 1 of the Convention against Torture; that the maximum period of detention was 18 months, although the Supreme Court could extend that period for another six months; and that at all times detainees were allowed to contact legal counsel.
The questions were put by Committee members at a meeting Wednesday at which Belarus submitted its third periodic report on efforts to implement the Convention against Torture. Belarus is one of the 123 States parties to the Convention and under its terms must offer such regular accountings to the Committee.
The Committee is scheduled to issue its conclusions and recommendations on the report of Belarus at 3 p.m. on Monday, 20 November.
The Government delegation consisted of Alexander Ivanovsky, Deputy Attorney-General of Belarus; Vladimir Malevich, Deputy Permanent Representative of Belarus to the United Nations Office at Geneva; and Sergei Anoshko, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Friday, 17 November, to begin consideration of a third periodic report of Canada.
Discussion
The Belarus Government delegation, responding to questions put by Committee members, said, among other things, that individual articles of the Criminal Code and Code of Execution of Penalties contained for the first time definitions of torture, although these definitions were not as exhaustive as that of article 1 of the Convention; consideration would be given to adopting the Convention definition. Persons could appeal to the Procurators or courts on the basis of laws prohibiting torture, and there had been cases of punishment of officials found guilty of acts of ill-treatment. Detainees were allowed to see doctors; if complaints were filed, medical consultations were compulsory.
The maximum period of detention was 18 months, although the Supreme Court could extend that period for another six months. Throughout all periods of detention, detainees were allowed to contact legal counsel, the delegation said. A person could be held for 10 days without indictment, but after that an indictment was necessary.
Decisions on refoulement from Belarus could be appealed, the delegation said.
Over the last five years, a number of officials had been charged with maltreatment, including police officers and militia personnel, the delegation said, and those cases were being investigated.
Charges of persecution of the political opposition were based on fabricated events, the delegation said; nonetheless, the Government was prepared to investigate such cases, including the reported application of electric shocks. All persons were allowed to file complaints of maltreatment.
The Government of Belarus could not agree with allegations of maltreatment of political demonstrators in July and October 1999, or March 2000, the delegation said. All Governments were entitled to preserve public order, and these demonstrations could only be described as disrupting the peace. Legitimate criminal proceedings were brought against those organizing the demonstrations. Charges that political opposition members were held in cells with AIDS sufferers and other inappropriate company, and that juveniles involved in the demonstrations were beaten, were surprising allegations; AIDS sufferers were kept separately from other inmates, and juveniles were treated in keeping with humane international norms.
Specific cases mentioned involving two leaders of the political opposition did not take into account that these people were charged with criminal matters unrelated to their political positions, the delegation said. Alleged disappearances of political opposition figures were being investigated by the Government, but thus far nothing reliable had been discovered about the disappearances, and the delegation did not understand why the matter fell within the subject matter of the report of Belarus to the Committee.
The independence of the judiciary of Belarus was enshrined in the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure, the delegation said; to say that judges could not be independent because they were appointed by the President of the Republic was not, the delegation felt, substantial; among other things, judges, once appointed, could not be dismissed unless they were shown to be incapacitated in some way. Lawyers were not, as suggested by the Committee, dependent on the State for their work; they earned their salaries from their clients; they were not beholden to the State and it was not fair to say they did not function independently of the State.
Questions about freedom of the press seemed outside the concern of the Committee, the delegation said, but there were in fact numerous newspapers reflecting varying political opinions in the country, including the opinions of the political opposition.
Compensation could be granted for both material and moral damage caused to persons by maltreatment by public officials, the delegation said, and such compensation had been granted in various cases.
There was no gap, as alleged, between legal protections in Belarus and their application, the delegation said; if laws were not applied in isolated cases, the officials who had failed in their duty were held responsible.
Women prisoners were held in the country's lone women's colony, the delegation said; no instances of cruel treatment had been shown to have occurred there; only women were held in the colony.
There were no public executions in Belarus, the delegation said.
"Hooliganism" was defined as "gross violation of public order" involving force or the threat of the use of force, and hooliganism in no way applied to people in political demonstrations, the delegation said; if those holding demonstrations disrupted public order, there were legal measures to sanction those violations.
The situation of detainees was monitored constantly, the delegation said; at the stage of preliminary detention, detainees were held in investigative centres, and they were allowed to have medical treatment; on entry, they were allowed to ask for medical examinations. The prisons were overfull, the delegation said; every year now there were about 120,000 crimes committed, the continuation of a crime wave that had begun in the early 1990s; lack of resources made the construction of new prisons and detention centres difficult.
The Procurator-General and the Procurators under him were independent in their activities, the delegation said.
The death penalty did exist in Belarus, and a referendum on the topic in 1996 had shown that the public supported continued existence of the death penalty, the delegation said. Introduction of the sentence of life imprisonment had reduced the number of death sentences; four persons had been sentenced to death so far this year. There was a possibility of commutation of a death sentence to life imprisonment.
A special branch of the Procurator's office dealt with complaints from inmates and detainees, the delegation said; so far this year 752 such complaints had been received; of these, 88 had been satisfactorily resolved -- that is, the Procurator's office had taken action in response.
It was true that in some centres of detention there were no mattresses or blankets for detainees, the delegation said. The maximum period of detention in those locations was three days.
* *** *