Article from Human Rights House Network - 18 September, a preliminary meeting of the litigants on the case initiated by Hrodna Regional Department of KGB, asking the court to classify a newspaper, some books, human rights newsletters and music CDs as «extremist materials» took place at the District Court of Hrodna (Western Belarus). Human Rights activists are concerned about the troubling precedent such a clasification might have, if articles of the ´Law on Counteraction of Extremism´ could be used against dissidents. (20-SEP-08)

Based on www.baj.by

The exact list of the «potential extremist materials» comprises an issue of a newspaper of Belarusian Poles Glos znad Niemna na Uchodzstwie, books «Chronicles of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in 2004», «Conspirator of Belarus», «Letters from the Forest» by Paval Seviarynets, «An Accidental President» by Sviatlana Kalinkina and Pavel Sheremet, printouts of «The Basics of United Democratic Forces Strategy» and «Draft Resolution of Democratic Forces Congress», «Svabodnaja Dumka» newsletter, recordings of programs of Polish Radio and CDs with recording of «Solidarity with Belarus» concert.

These are the materials confiscated by cross border officers in Hrodna in 2005–2007 from different people who were crossing state border of Belarus. The respondents on the case are BAJ members, journalists Andrzej Pisalnik, Valery Shchukin and Barys Haretski, students of Kastus Kalinouski Studying Program Jauhen Skarabutan, Aliaksej Trubkin and Dzmitry Malchyk, a member of United Civil Party Uladzimir Laryn, and two inhabitants of Iuje District (Hrodno region)

«2.5 years passed, and now we learn KGB found some “extremist” contents in the newspaper. It is difficult to say what article they mean, as I don’t think there was something really sharp in that issue, although it was dedicated to the presidential elections. I cannot see any logics in such actions by KGB. But Hrodna is famous for giving “trial runs” for some schemes that are applied to the rest of the country afterwards. For instance, in Hrodna first Belarusian journalists were found guilty of violating the Criminal Code», Andrzej Pisalnik said bearing in mind the case of journalists of “Pahonia” newspaper Mikola Markevich and Pavel Mazhejka.

First Sign

19 September, BAJ managed to get a copy of the Iuje District Court decision made on September the 9th. Judge Aliaksandr Toustsik considered an issue of non-registered Svaboda newspaper to be extremist and decided to destroy 5,000 copies of it confiscated by the police. The appeal concerning Svaboda newspaper is based on the article called «War in Georgia». According to Hrodna KGB officers, this article «contains signs of discredit of activities of Belarusian police» that didn’t let Malady Front (Young Front) activists held an unsanctioned picket in front of the Russian Embassy in Minsk. Malady Front is described in the appeal as «radical and extremist organization» and the picket is explained by «an attempt to express solidarity with unlawful actions of the Georgian authorities against the people of the South Ossetia». That is why KGB concludes that «the information in the newspaper contains anti-Belarusian trends and is aims at discrediting the basics of home and foreign policy of Belarus», and «the articles published contain propaganda of extremism and genocide of the Ossetians by the Georgian authorities».

The Law

The Law «On Counteraction to Extremism» came into force in the beginning of 2007 in Belarus. According to the law, extremist materials are information products that contain calls for extremist activities, promote them or are regarded as extremist by a court decision. Andrei Bastunets, Deputy Chairperson of Belarusian Association of Journalists, draws attention to the fact that some of the matter the court of Hrodna would deal with have been confiscated even before the law came into force. «Unfortunately, after a Belarusian journalist Aliaksandr Zdvizhkou was imprisoned for re-printing the Mohammed cartoons bringing people to court for distributing “An Accidental President” book would not look so absurd in our country,» the lawyer admits. The court’s trail was postponed till the beginning of October, just after the Parliamentary Elections.