<nettime> Belarus

[Drazen Pantic <drazen.pantic@ties.itu.int>]

HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE ''VIASNA-96'' (''SPRING-96'')

PRESS-RELEASE

Minsk, April 7, 1999

A tragedy happened in Mahiliow - on April 5, 1999 at 16 o'clock the body
of the Belarusan Social-Democratic Party's ''Narodnaia Hramada'' Slavamir
Ambruzhevich was found in a buildingsand-pit.

According to information of Valadar Curupanaw (he is a Mahiliow's ) there
was a cranial-cerebral trauma on Ambruzhevich's head when his body was
found. Some fly-sheets were found with him, the money from his pockets was
not stolen The sand-pit in which the body was found is situated not far
from S. Ambruzhevich's house. On Sunday April 4, 1999 during election of
local Soviets' deputies S. Ambruzhevich was an observer non one of the
voting points.

Militia refused to bring a criminal case on the fact of the death,
militiamen tell that it was not death by violence but an accident. But
members of the party are considered that S, Ambruzhevich's death was
caused by his political activity.

THE INFORMATION DEPARTMENT OF ''VIASNA-96''

HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE ''VIASNA-96'' (''SPRING-96'')

PRESS-RELEASE

Minsk, April 7, 1999

On April 7, 1999 the journalist of the independent newspaper ''Naviny''
Aleh Hruzdzilovich was taken to KGB for an interrogation.

In the morning Aleh Hruzdzilovich came out of his house. 8 people in civil
clothes came up to him, showed him their documents of the KGB's members,
then took him to a KGB department by a service car. It's worth mentioning
that on April 5 Hruzdzilovich received a call-up from the KGB. A.
Hruzdzilovich came to KGB in time. He took the well-known Belarusan
advocate Harry Pahaniaila with him and stated that he would speak with the
investigator only if his advocate was present. The KGB investigator on
especially important cases Henadz' Hniaz'ko refused to talk with
Hruzdzilovich on such conditions. On April 7 after Aleh Hruzdzilovich was
taken to KGB he was informed that a criminal case was brought and he was
to have given witness on it. Aleh Hruzdzilovich refused to answer
investigator's qu stions without juridical consultant according to article
No. 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus' which guarantees
juridical support in such cases. He refused to sign the protocol where his
words were retold. He refused to sign promise not to tell anybody about
pre-investigation, too. Hruzdzilovich might have been called to KGB
because of the article ''A Secret Plan Against Opposition'' which had been
printed in the newspaper ''Naviny'' on March 19. The plan of
counter-action ''to group of rad cal opposition leaders on preparation of
anti presidential election of president of the Republic of Belarus' ''. In
this document there were a lot of points which evidently contradict the
Constitution of the Republic of Belarus' and violate human rights.
According to this plan KGB ''must use the situation to compromise and sow
dissension'' into opposition structures.

INFORMATION DEPARTMENT OF ''VIASNA-96''


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