Oleg Volchek Convicted After Peaceful Assembly
On 4 July 2017 the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk city convicted Oleg Volchek on charges of participating in an unauthorised peaceful assembly and fined him 575 Belarusian Rubbles (approximately €260). During the hearing the human rights defender suffered a hypertensive crisis and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. He was convicted in absentia.
Oleg Volchek is a human rights defender and Head of the human rights centre, Legal Assistance to the Population, which provides free legal assistance to citizens on matters of labour and housing, as well as civil and political rights. Despite the centre being arbitrarily banned by the authorities in 2003, it continues its work. In 1999, Oleg Volchek was in charge of an independent committee which investigated the forced disappearance of the former Belarusian Minister of Internal Affairs and one of the leading opposition politicians, Yury Zakharenko.
On 4 July 2017 the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk city convicted Oleg Volchek on charges of participating in an unauthorised peaceful assembly and fined him 575 Belarusian Rubbles (approximately €260). During the hearing the human rights defender suffered a hypertensive crisis and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. He was convicted in absentia.
Oleg Volchek is a human rights defender and head of the human rights centre, Legal Assistance to the Population, which provides free legal assistance to citizens regarding labour and housing, as well as civil and political rights. The centre was arbitrarily banned by the authorities in 2003 but continues its work.
On 4 July 2017, Oleg Volchek was found guilty under Article 23.34, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences (participation in an unauthorised peaceful assembly) and sentenced to a fine of 575 Belarusian Rubbles (approximately €260). The Frunzensky District Court dismissed all requests made by Oleg Volchek to summon his witnesses. Although Oleg Volchek filled several motions for a recess during the court hearing, which lasted over 6 hours, due to his deteriorating state of health, none were upheld by the Court. The human rights defender suffered a hypertensive crisis and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance before the end of the trial. The judge issued the guilty verdict against Oleg Volchek in his absence.
The trial on 4 July 2017 is the latest in a series of hearings regarding an administrative case against the human rights defender. The case was initiated by the Department of Security, Public Order, and Precaution in connection with Oleg Volchek’s monitoring activities during a peaceful assembly on 17 February 2017 in Minsk. On 21 March 2017, Oleg Volchek filed a complaint to the Moskovsky District Prosecutor’s Office in Minsk that Article 2.10 of the Code of Execution Procedure on Administrative Violations had been violated by the Frunzensky District Court, which convicted him of participation in an unauthorised peaceful assembly and sentenced him to thirteen days’ imprisonment on the same day. On 31 March 2017, the Minsk City Court dismissed the conviction and sentence, and ordered the Court to re-investigate the case against Oleg Volchek. On 2 May 2017 the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk city reissued a guilty verdict and once again sentenced Oleg Volchek to thirteen days’ imprisonment. Neither Oleg Volchek nor his lawyer were informed of the results of the re-investigation of the case, nor were they notified by the Court of the ongoing trial, in violation with the Administrative Code of Execution Procedures of the Republic of Belarus. On 5 May 2017, Oleg Volchek filed a complaint to the Minsk City Court requesting the dismissal of the guilty verdict.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern at the judicial harassment of human rights defender Oleg Volchek and calls on authorities in Belarus to immediately quash the conviction and sentence against him, as it believes that he is being targeted as a result of his peaceful and legitimate work in defence of human rights.
On 2 June 2017, Oleg Volchek's lawayer was informed that the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk city reissued a guilty verdict against human rights defender Oleg Volchek and sentenced him to thirteen days’ imprisonment for participating in an unauthorised peaceful assembly.
On 2 May 2017, the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk city held a hearing on the results of its reinvestigation of an administrative case initiated against Oleg Volchek by the Department of Security, Public Order, and Precaution, in reprisal for his monitoring activities during a peaceful assembly on 17 February 2017 in Minsk. The Court found him guilty of violating Article 23.34 Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences (participating in an unauthorised peaceful assembly) and sentenced him to thirteen days’ imprisonment. On 31 March 2017, the Minsk City Court had dismissed an earlier conviction and sentence issued by the Frunzensky District Court on 21 March 2017 and ordered the Court to re-investigate the case against the human rights defender. This decision was based on the defender’s complaint to the Moskavsky District Prosecutor's Office in Minsk on 21 March 2017 that Article 2.10 of the Code of Execution Procedure on Administrative Violations (which relates to the thorough, exhaustive and objective investigation of the circumstances of a case) had been violated.
Neither Oleg Volchek nor his lawyer were informed of the results of the re-investigation of the case, nor were they notified by the Court about the ongoing trial. Oleg Volchek was therefore unable to prepare his defence before the Court or attend the court hearings. A failure to notify or a late notification about an ongoing investigation and/or court proceedings against a suspect is considered a violation of the Administrative Code of Execution Procedures of the Republic of Belarus.
On 5 May 2017, Oleg Volchek filed a complaint to the Minsk City Court regarding the unfair trial against him with a request to dismiss the guilty verdict issued by the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk city on 2 June 2017 and to drop the case on the administrative offence against him.
Since the beginning of February 2017, thousands of people have protested peacefully in cities across Belarus against a decree “On prevention of social dependency”, also known as Decree No.3. The decree sanctions people who have worked less than 183 days per year by imposing a penalty in the form of a fee and/or administrative arrest. The demonstrations were not authorised by the Belarusian authorities, who used various pretexts to restrict the right to peaceful assembly. More than 700 people were detained by the police following these peaceful demonstrations. Those detained include human rights defenders, journalists, and civil and political activists throughout the country.
Since the introduction of the decree, Oleg Volchek and his colleagues from Legal Assistance to the Population have provided more than 1000 free legal consultations to people labeled “social parasites” under the decree and ordered to pay the fee. The human rights defenders have assisted at least 14 people to win suits to annul the decisions of the Tax Authority against them. In December 2016, Legal Assistance to the Population called for the Presidential Administration and the Prime Minister of Belarus to impose a moratorium on Decree No. 3, as it violates the Constitution and has provoked mass protests.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern at the charges against human rights defender Oleg Volchek and calls on Belarus authorities to immediately drop all charges against him, as it believes that he is being targeted as a result of his legitimate work in defence of human rights.
On 21 March 2017, the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk city found the human rights defender Oleg Volchek guilty of participating in an unauthorized peaceful assembly. He was sentenced to thirteen days’ imprisonment.
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On 21 March 2017, the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk city considered an indictment from the Department of Security, Public Order and Precaution against Oleg Volchek. The human rights defender was accused of violating Article 23.34 Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences (participating in unauthorized peaceful assembly) in reprisal for his monitoring activities during the assembly on 17 February 2017. During this assembly, more than five thousand people gathered on the streets of Minsk against the Presidential Decree No. 3 “On prevention of social dependency”. Oleg Volchek actively provided legal advice on appealing this decree during the assembly.
The Frunzensky District Court delivered a guilty verdict despite the fact that the investigation into the administrative case against the human rights defender violated Article 2.10 of the Code of Execution Procedure on Administrative Violations (thorough, exhaustive and objective investigation of circumstances of a case). Oleg Volchek filed a complaint against this violation before the Moskavsky District Prosecutor's Office in Minsk. Oleg Volchek was sentenced to thirteen days' imprisonment.
Over the course of three months, Oleg Volchek and his colleagues from Legal Assistance to the Population, provided more than 1000 free legal consultations concerning Decree No. 3 to people who were labelled “social parasites” and ordered to pay the fee. In December 2016, Legal Assistance to the Population called for the Presidential Administration and the Prime Minister of Belarus to impose a moratorium on Decree No. 3, as it has provoked mass protests.
On 17 March 2017, human rights lawyers Leonid Sudalenko and Anatoly Poplavnyi were found guilty of non-compliance with the legal requirements on the organisation and conducting of mass events, which was also in relation to a peaceful demonstration against Decree No. 3. Since the beginning of February 2017, thousands of people have protested peacefully in many cities of Belarus against the decree which is in violation of the Constitution and International Human Rights Law, as it sanctions people who have worked less than 183 days per year by imposing a penalty in the form of a fee and/or administrative arrest. The demonstrations were not authorised by the Belarusian authorities, who use different pretexts to restrict the right of peaceful assembly. More than 300 people were detained by the police following these peaceful demonstrations. Those detained include human rights defenders, journalists, and civil and political activists throughout the country.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern at the charges against human rights defender Oleg Volchek, as it believes they are linked to his legitimate and peaceful human rights work in Belarus.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Belarus to:
1. Immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Oleg Volchek, as it is believed that they are solely motivated by his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights;
2. Take all necessary measures to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of Oleg Volchek and to guarantee his physical and psychological security;
3. Immediately drop all charges against Leonid Sudalenko and Anatoly Poplavnyi as it is believed that they are solely motivated by their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights;
4. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Belarus are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
