E. Tonkacheva: Decision of human rights defenders in Belarus of being at risk is a deliberate choice

Ales Bialiatski knew what risks he was carrying by staying at home and continuing an active advocacy work. This fact must be considered by other representatives of the third sector in Belarus. As now, in fact, under all the Belarussian NGO’s is laid a delayed-action mine.

This opinion with "EUROBELARUS" shared director of the Center for Legal Transformation Elena Tonkacheva.

- Was the arrest of Ales Bialiatski result of systematic pressure on human rights defenders and whether it was possible to avoid it?

- Pressure on human rights defenders, though in various degrees, has been conducted through all previous election campaigns. But this time, after the presidential election, a surge of repressions was the most notable, not only for the democratic opposition, but also for the human rights community. And the fact that the authorities of the country have been interested in Ales Bialiatski, we knew and understood the maximum impact of this situation. Ales Bialiatski’s own decision to stay in Belarus and to continue his active public activities was made by him deliberately. Although Ales Bialiatski clearly realized that he could be arrested and prosecuted. After all, the fact that the Bialiatski’s Lithuanian bank account information had been conveyed to Belarusian authorities was known as to the Human Rights Centre "Viasna" so to the certain circle of Belarusian human rights organizations. 

Photo: TUT.BY

- Why have Belarusian authorities used the agreement on judicial assistance from 1992 to pressure on civil society representative only now?

- After December, the 19^th, as a result of an active information-gathering, law enforcement agencies were overwhelmed with the data on the ways of functioning of traditional schemes of investment, the provision of technical means. They have been getting the information from various sources. Firstly, from materials, starting from May 2010, that law enforcement agencies rendered from  the offices of various public organizations and movements during the searches. Secondly, from the conversations with people; and, as we can judge from the result, these were quite informative. Thus, having such information database, only the lazy one would not use it to stop the civic engagement. As practice shows, laziness is the last thing that Belarusian law machinery should be accused of.

After December, the 19^th Human Rights Centre "Viasna" took over solving of at least three issues. These were: issues of payment of administrative penalties, issues of attorneys' in criminal cases fees and issues of families’ help, as well as organizing transfers to prisoners. In this set of circumstances, while the authorities had an unprecedented amount of information compared with previous periods and, realizing that there were points at which help and support were crossing, these last had taken advantage of getting information on personal bank accounts. The opportunity was possible thanks to an agreement on legal assistance with Lithuania.

- What impact has made detention of Ales Bialiatski on Belarusian human rights defenders activities? Have the working conditions changed?

- It is clear that inspiration bring neither arrests nor potential criminal liability for your colleagues. Especially, when we all are all in personal relationships, as we are not many. But the fact that we are few works in cohesion for us. It is clear that the activities of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" will continue. Moreover, these will take place in a more partner way and it will be more coordinated than ever before.

However, the arrest of Ales Bialiatski was a show trial, a warning trial not only to human rights defenders and other representatives of civil society. Let's talk openly about the fact that the major civic initiatives, in some sense, are in the same position as the Human Rights Centre "Viasna" as the terms of financing their activities are such that it is not possible to make it completely legally and completely openly. Respectively, the displacement of these in a semi-legal field makes their activity a delayed-action mine. When the authorities want to undermine it, they’ll do it.

But there is a second aspect: activitiy in such circumstances, especially public activity, is the result of deliberate choice. This means that with similar repressions it is hardly possible to make people stop doing what they think they should.


Information service "EVROBELARUS"