Court hearings of Leanid Sudalenka, Maryia Tarasenka and Taciana Lasica held behind closed doors

On 3 September 2021, the first court hearing regarding the case of human rights defenders Leanid Sudalenka, Maryia Tarasenka and Taciana Lasica took place at Centralny District Court in Gomel. The human rights defenders face charges of “organising, financing, training and preparation of actions grossly violating public order and financing such activities” under parts 1 and 2 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code. If convicted, they could face up to three years of imprisonment.

Only a limited number of people were permitted to attend the hearing, including pro-government media representatives and 5 individuals. The court security officers explained such restrictions were due to the difficult epidemiological situation in connection to COVID-19. Soon after the first court session started, judge Siarhei Salouski upheld the prosecution’s request to hold the hearings behind closed doors despite the defence lawyers’ protest and those present in the court room were asked to leave. The prosecution stated that an open trial might disclose “evidence containing confidential financial information relating to the movement of funds in accounts, and endanger the safety of witnesses and other participants in the criminal process, including their family members and close relatives.” The defendants lawyers’ disagreed and assured the prosecution that there were no witnesses in the case who had reported that they were afraid of disclosing their data, and the case itself did not contain state secrets. The lawyers’ also suggested that those witnesses who did have reservations could be heard behind closed doors, but insisted that there is no reason to make the whole trial process closed. Front Line Defenders also condems the decision to hold the hearings of the three above-mentioned human rights defenders behind closed doors.

At the beginning of the hearing Leanid Sudalenka’s lawyer appealed to the court regarding the fact that the human rights defender’s notes, paper and pen had been confiscated, however, judge Siarhei Salouski did not grant him access to these materials. Earlier, in August 2021, the same judge prohibited Leanid Sudalenka to meet with his family, even though the chairman of the Central District Court Victor Kazachok had approved this request. Colleagues of Leanid Sudalenka believe that Judge Siarhei Salouski’s decisions against the human rights defender seem to be motivated by personal reasons. In the summer of 2020, Leanid Sudalenka was involved in submitting a complaint on behalf Gomel citizen Valery Smian to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding a court fine issued by judge Siarhei Salouski which violated his right to freedom of assembly.

The evidence used to support the accusation against Leanid Sudalenka are connected to his human rights work, particularly his online activity. For example, on 25 October 2020 the human rights defender published a post on his Facebook page in which he called to meet with Gomel activist Maria Tulzhenkova who had recently been released from administrative detention. This post was subsequently used as evidence of “organisation of gross violation of order”. The other Facebook post in question was published on 21 November 2020, in which he offered to help the family of an individual who had been accused of “mass riots” and was in pre-trial detention, to buy firewood for the winter. Moreover, the investigation qualifies Leanid Sudalenka’s activities such as payment of fines, state fees, lawyers' services, and food bills in the temporary detention facility, as well as a seminar on digital security for human rights defenders, as “financing a gross violation of order and training its participants.”

On 18 January 2021, human rights defender and head of Human Rights Center Viasna (HRC Viasna) branch in Gomel Leanid Sudalenka and HRC Viasna volunteer Maryia Tarasenka were detained in Gomel. Earlier on the 5 January 2021, law enforcement officers searched Leanid Sudalenka’s house and the “Gomel social-political center”, where the office of the Gomel branch of HRC Viasna was located. On 21 January 2021, HRC Viasna volunteer Taciana Lasica was detained by law enforcement officers at the Minsk airport while attempting to travel from Belarus to Lithuania. Maryia Tarasenka was held for three days before being released on 21 January 2021 after she agreed to sign a pledge not to leave the country. Taciana Lasica and Leanid Sudalenka have been held in pre-trial detention centre 3 in Gomel for seven months.

Since May 2021, members of HRC Viasna have been targeted, arbitrarily detained and subjected to judicial harassment for their human rights work. After the massive raids by the law enforcement on 14 July 2021, more than a dozen prominent Belarusian human rights defenders were detained throughout the country, including HRC Viasna members Uladzimir Labkovich, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Andrei Paluda, Ales Bialiatski, Alena Laptsionak and Viktar Sazonau. Andrei Paluda, Alena Laptsionak and Viktar Sazonau were later released with travel restricted by the investigator without the decision of the court. Seven members of the organisation and volunteers are currently in jail: Maria Rabkova, Andrey Chapyuk, Leanid Sudalenka, Taciana Lasica, Uladzimir Labkovich, Valiantsin Stefanovich and Ales Bialiatski.

Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned by the ongoing judicial prosecution of human rights defenders Leanid Sudalenka, Taciana Lasica and Maryia Tarasenka and other members of HRC Viasna. The initial charges against the three human rights defenders and their detention appears to be an attempt to criminalise their legitimate human rights activities and the work of HRC Viasna. Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Belarus to immediately release Leanid Sudalenka and Taciana Lasica, drop the charges against Leanid Sudalenka, Maryia Tarasenka and Taciana Lasica, and cease the targeting human rights defenders, HRC Viasna and other human rights organisations in the country.