Foreign funding for Belarusian NGOs from now on is considered to be a penal action case

Belarusian NGOs and political parties’ circumstances of activity in Belarus have been tightened. This is provided by the draft bill On Making Addenda and Amendments to Some Laws of the Republic of Belarus. The text of the document was published on the website of the National Center of Legal Information of the Republic of Belarus. It is reported that the document was adopted by the House of Representatives and approved by the Council of the Republic of Belarus on October, the 3^rd 2011. 

The promulgated draft bill states amendments to a number of laws under which any protests without permission are prohibited, and foreign funding of NGOs is set a penal action.

Among other, it is envisaged that "the activities of public associations, unions, aimed at facilitating the provision of benefits and privileges of foreign governments to citizens of the Republic of Belarus, in connection with political, religious beliefs or national origin in violation of the law, are prohibited".

It was also provided that "republican and local public associations and their unions are prohibited to store cash, precious metals and other valuables in banks and non-bank financial institutions in the territory of foreign states".

One of the changes runs as follows: "Cash and other property received by political parties, unions, and created by these legal entities from sources prohibited by this Article, shall be transferred to the state income. In case of refusal of a voluntary transfer of the funds and property these shall be collected in state income juridically at the request of state agencies exercising state control over the use of foreign gratuitous aid".

There has also been introduced a number of amendments to the Criminal Code, including Article 356 "High treason", article 358 "Espionage" and "Secret service activities".

Are provided amendments to articles of the Criminal Code for violation of the law on foreign gratuitous aid; receiving foreign gratuitous aid in violation of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus; violation of the order of organization or holding mass actions.

It is quite interesting also an Article 369, providing liability for violation of the organization or holding mass actions:

"Public calls for a meeting, rally, street processions, demonstration or picketing in violation of the established order of their organization or holding, or involvement of persons in such mass actions through violence, threat of force, fraud, or remuneration, or any other organization or holding such events, if their holding through negligence resulted in death, grievous bodily harm to one or more persons or damage on a large scale in the absence of signs of the crimes provided in Articles 293 and 342 of this Code, shall be punished by imprisonment for up to six months, or restraint of liberty for up to three years, or imprisonment for the same period”.

It is also notable an article 23.24 providing liability for violation of the law on foreign gratuitous aid:

1. Granting by a foreign citizen or a stateless person of foreign gratuitous aid for carrying out any activity prohibited by law, entails deportation of this citizen and confiscation of this aid.

2. Preparation, as well as storage, movement of foreign gratuitous aid for carrying out extremist activities, or other acts prohibited by law, or funding of political parties, unions (associations), political parties, preparation or conducting of elections, referenda, recall of a deputy, of a member of the Council of the Republic of Belarus of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus , organization or holding meetings, rallies, marches, demonstrations, picketing, strikes, or distribution of campaign materials, seminars or other forms of political and mass agitation work among the population, if these acts do not constitute a crime, are punishable by a fine of fifty to two hundred base units with confiscation of this aid, for a legal person - up to one hundred percent of the value of foreign gratuitous aid with the confiscation of this aid".

In addition, on September, the 30^th the House of Representatives submitted a draft bill of the law "On Making Amendments and Addenda to the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On State Security of the Republic of Belarus". The draft bill presents, inter alia, the new edition of the rights of public safety bodies, as well as application of the law by articles on using by security organs of physical force, special means, weapons, combat and special equipment.