A Minsk city court upheld the sentences of 5 activists of the All-Ukrainian youth organization "National Alliance," who were sentenced to 9–15 days of arrest for participating in an unauthorized opposition rally near the administration of the Belarusian president on April 26. This was done in contrast to the decision of the same court regarding 14 Russian activists who were arrested during the same rally but who were released last week. Belarusian human rights defenders called these decisions of the Minsk court politically motivated.
While the question of commuting the punishment for 14 Russian citizens was decided very promptly by the chairman of the Minsk city court, Mikhail Ardzyaka, on his day off, he had no time to consider the petitions of Ukrainian consul Vasyl Serdeha on Monday and half of Tuesday. The Ukrainian diplomat was forced to wait in the reception area or on the street. And this time, Judge Ardzyaka did not allow the liberalism uncharacteristic of the Belarusian legal system, as happened in the case of the Russians. All Ukrainians were denied early release, despite the fact that they declared a hunger strike in protest.
Consul Serdeha was still waiting for a better decision; he stated that he is studying the current situation but in any case will defend the rights of Ukrainian citizens. The embassy and Belarusian human rights organizations continue to deliver necessary items to the Ukrainians on hunger strike in prison.
Ukrainian consul Vasyl Serdeha reported that the Minsk court refused to comment on what caused such different treatment of Russian and Ukrainian activists. Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ruslan Yesin said on this matter that his agency does not interfere in the activities of the judicial system. And the Belarusian ambassador in Kyiv, Valyantsin Vyalechka, refuted the claim that Belarus has displayed double standards toward Russian and Ukrainian citizens.
Ambassador Vyalechka also stated that the Belarusian judicial system operates independently.
However, representatives of Belarusian human rights organizations are convinced of the opposite. In particular, the head of the human rights center "Vyasna," Ales Byalyatski, called the latest decisions an example of how strongly Belarusian courts depend on the executive branch and on the will of the president. These decisions also clearly demonstrate the political vectors of Belarus's foreign policy, reports BBC.
Ales Byalyatski, like many other independent observers in Minsk, is convinced that the Minsk court's decisions regarding the Ukrainians are purely political, and are also aimed at emphasizing the negative attitude of official Minsk toward the new Ukrainian authorities and the unpleasant example for them of the Orange Revolution.
In general, this is a disgrace to the Belarusian judicial system, is convinced lawyer of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Aleh Hulak, but it can no longer significantly affect the image of Belarusian justice:
Former ambassador Marynich, whom Mr. Hulak mentioned, has been in prison for the second year for allegedly stealing computers leased at the US embassy, although the embassy has no claims against him. Many other activists of the opposition and business movement of Belarus have been in prison, or are there now, including for insulting President Lukashenka and organizing mass protest actions. International organizations consider Mr. Marynich and other prisoners convicted by the Belarusian system to be prisoners of conscience and call on the Belarusian authorities to release them. But so far the Belarusian authorities have not heeded this call. According to opposition Belarusian politician Anatol Lyabedzka, the case of the 14 arrested Russians, who were nevertheless released under pressure from Moscow, is a case that shows that only Russia can now influence the Belarusian authorities.