Kalinkovichy Activist In UN: Yes, I Took Part In Rally With White-Red-White Flag

The Belarusian authorities will have to answer for violation of the rights to freedom of assembly.

The activist from Kalinkovichy Tamara Zaitsava, who received a large fine for solidarity with the REP trade union, filed a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee. The woman believes that the Belarusian authorities violated her rights to peaceful assembly and expression of opinion, Homel Spring informs.

Attempts to abolish the fine at the domestic level did not bring success – the Minsk City Court, where the fine was appealed, took the side of the authorities.

In her complaint to the Human Rights Committee the applicant draws attention to the fact that the fine awarded to her is twice the size of her monthly pension, and the punishment itself is disproportionate to the offense.

"Even if I took part in a spontaneous rally holding a white-red-white flag, state agents should have evaluated my actions primarily based on our country's international obligations in the field of human rights, namely, to prove the reasonability of restrictions imposed on my rights," – Tamara Zaitsava states.

The human rights activist and the legal inspector of the REP trade union Leanid Sudalenka notes that after the verdict was announced to the trade union leaders Hennadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik, a spontaneous peaceful meeting started near the House of Justice.

"The national law does not provide for the procedure for holding, as in this case, spontaneous assemblies. Therefore, any spontaneous assembly is a priori considered illegal in our country. However, this is not the main problem. The main problem today is the complete disregard of the basic principles of human rights by the judiciary," – the lawyer stressed.

We remind, that, on August 24 after the announcement of the verdict in the case of the REP trade union leaders, activists and citizens present there held a rally in support of an independent trade union. The rally took place in front of the House of Justice, where the trial was held. Tamara Zaitsava held a white-red-white flag, other participants held the flags of the REP trade union and the civil campaign European Belarus. About 10 minutes later riot police officers drove up to them and detained the active protesters.

Tamara Zaitsava asks the UN Committee to establish the fact of violation of her right to peaceful assembly and expression of opinion and to recommend the Belarusian government to bring the national law on mass events in line with international obligations.