APPEAL FROM THE BELARUSIAN PUBLIC COMMISSION “FREEDOM TO KOZULIN!”

Prime Minister of Canada
Mr. Steven Harper

Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Ms Angela Merkel

President of French Republic
Mr. Jacques Chirac

Prime Minister of Great Britain
Mr. Tony Blair

Prime Minister of the Italian Republic
Mr. Romano Prodi

Prime Minister of Japan
Mr. Junichiro Koizumi

President of the Russian Federation
Mr. Vladimir Putin

President of the United States of America
Mr. George Bush


Appeal From the Belarusian Public Commission “Freedom to Kozulin!”

 Your Excellencies, leaders of the G8 group of industrialized countries,
We, members of the Public Commission for the civic control over the trial against professor Alexaner Kozulin, former presidential candidate and a leader of Belarusian social democratic movement, express deep alarm with the escalating repressions against democratic activists in Belarus. These repressions have been particularly strong after the 2006 presidential elections.

Our Commission was formed on June 30, 2006 as a result of an initiative of Belarusian civic organizations, opposition parties, leading judicial experts, social scientists and journalists. Initially formed to raise public awareness of the unjust treatment of Mr. Kozulin, the Commission will expand its activities to protect all political prisoners in Belarus.

Symbolically, one day earlier, on June 29, the G8 foreign ministers found a place for Belarus in their declaration that followed the ministers’ summit in Moscow. Our country was mentioned at the end of the six page document, in the section entitled “Additional Issues.” However, many believe that this classification of the situation in Belarus as a minor issue at the end of the list of problems, could be interpreted as willingness of Europe and the USA to overlook a dictatorship in the middle of Europe in pursuit of the politically correct relationship with Russia.

The regime of personal rule of Alexander Lukashenko is cynically using periods when international attention to human rights and democracy is weaker. Lately, the regime has intensified criminal persecution of the political opponents. In order to suppress the opposition, Mr. Lukashenko is using secret services, anti terrorism and other special purpose military units, popularly known in our county as “death squadrons.” The number of people persecuted for their political or moral beliefs is constantly on the rise.

From March 19 to March 25, 2006 tens of thousands of Belarusians took part in demonstrations protesting against the falsified results of the elections. Throughout this time, more than one thousand demonstrators were arrested. This breath of the Belarusian democracy was ruthlessly stifled on March 15, traditionally celebrated as the Day of Freedom. On that day, peaceful citizens were walking toward the building of the jail where more than 300 previously arrested demonstrators were being held. They were walking along the sidewalks, without disturbing public order and traffic, carrying flowers. Against these peaceful citizens, special forces criminally used batons, smoke devices, light and noise grenades and other special weapons. The presidential power shed blood of its own citizens, many of whom were severely injured, and several shortly died, possibly as a result.

Alexander Kozulin, an officially registered candidate in the elections, who tried to prevent the bloodshed was arrested on March 25 and accused in malignant hooliganism. Charges presented to him would be considered groundless and absurd in any democratic country. On July 6 - 13, Mr. Kozulin faced a trial that resembled a process by the medieval inquisition. The state prosecutor and the court officials were deliberately humiliating professor Kozulin. For hours on end during the proceedings, he was kept in a metal cage and refused food and water. All appeals by defense team to observe the procedural code were declined. On July 13, this trial produced a sentence of five and a half years of imprisonment, just six months short of the maximum for the incriminated charges. The defense was arguing for a complete acquittal due to the lack of criminal act.

Our Commission is working on a complete judicial review of the Kozulin case and will be demanding its complete re-adjudication and his rehabilitation.

The July 13 sentence is an offense to all democratic movement. The demonstrative reprisal against Mr. Kozulin is Alexander Lukashenko’s personal revenge against a political opponent who dared to challenge the incumbent and speak the truth about the Belarusian political regime during the elections.  On March 20, Mr. Kozulin declared the Lukashenko regime unconstitutional usurpation of power as a result of a coup-d’etat in the form of falsified and distorted elections. He is not alone in this assessment: not a single democratic country, with the exception of Russia, recognized these elections as free and fair.

Belarusian people are tired of the blatant violations of core principles of criminal law, constitution and other rights of citizens, of criminal and administrative persecution of dissidents, of rising number of the political prisoners.

International community can no longer refrain from undertaking a complex of measures against the Lukashenko regime. We hope that Russia will join the G8 policies regarding this regime and demand that the Russian leadership cease its role of public defender of the Belarusian dictator. The person in Belarus who really needs a defender is professor Alexander Kozulin and other political prisoners – hostages of the regime.

Development of events in Belarus requires your coordinated and rapid reaction. Those who administer repressions in Belarus must know that they will be called to justice, that their acts will not remain unpunished.

We call upon you, leaders of the eight most prominent countries, to:

1.                                 Condemn the gross violations of justice committed by the government of Belarus.
2.                                 Demand from the Belarusian authorities to release Alexander Kozulin and other political prisoners.
3.                                 Impose sanctions against persons responsible for the violation of human rights in Belarus.

Minsk, July 15, 2006
On behalf of the Public Commission “Freedom to Kozulin”
Gennadiy Fedynich
Ludminla Griaznova
Irina Kozulina
Aleksei Korol
Igor Lednik
Pavel Marinich
Garry Pogoniailo
Oleg Volveck