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The Observatory was informed of the arrest and sentencing of Mr. Andrei Bondarenko to five
days of imprisonment. Mr. Bondarenko is the Director of the human rights organisation
According to the information received, on November 14, 2013, Mr. Bondarenko was charged by
the Minsk Moscow District Court under Part 1 of Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code
(“organising and carrying out unauthorised activities”) and sentenced to five days of detention.
He was appearing as a witness before the court on that day, on the basis of a subpoena related
to a judicial case about a peaceful gathering which had happened two months before.
Indeed, on September 14, 2013, 18 persons, including Mr. Bondarenko, were arrested while they
were holding a peaceful demonstration in front of pre-trial detention facility n°1 on Volodarsky
street in Minsk. They were celebrating the memory of 21 year-old detainee Igor Ptichkin, who
died in this pretrial detention facility under suspicious circumstances on August 4, 2013.
Reportedly, the young man was beaten and looked like a old man only after a few days spent in
detention.
The Observatory expresses its concern about the arrest and detention of Mr. Bondarenko, and
Actions requested:
i. Put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial and administrative levels -
against Mr. Bondareko, as well as against all other human rights defenders in Belarus;
ii. Release Mr. Bondarenko immediately and unconditionally since his detention is arbitrary as it
its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with
others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and
its Article 6 (b) and (c), which states that “Everyone has the right, individually and in
association with others […] as provided for in human rights and other applicable international
instruments, freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge
on all human rights and fundamental freedoms and [...] to study, discuss, form and hold opinions
on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms
and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters”.
and its Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure
the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with
others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination,
pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the
iv. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in
accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by
Addresses:
· President Aliaksandr Lukashenka, vul. Karla Marksa, 38, 220016 Minsk, Belarus, Fax : + 375 172