BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

21/07/2006

Belarus denies has political detainees, blasts U.S.

By Andrei Makhovsky

REUTERS

MINSK - Ex-Soviet Belarus, criticised in the West for the jailing of an opposition activist last week, rejected any suggestion on Friday that its jails held political prisoners.

A Foreign Ministry statement denounced the U.S. State Department's annual human rights report, which was released in March and was heavily critical of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko's administration.

It said Washington, criticised in its turn over its treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, had no right to pass judgment on Belarus.

'Do the authors of this report have the moral right to make such assessments of other countries while in their own country special military tribunals are created as a result of the president's own actions?' the ministry said.

It said the State Department criticism contained 'biased negative assessments' of Belarus's leaders.

'At issue here are individuals who have been subject to punishment independent of their political opinions.

It said those cited as political prisoners had 'through their actions violated the rights of other citizens, including their right to free movement ... in areas where illegal gatherings were taking place'.

It was not clear why the ministry had waited four months to answer the charges, but its statement coincided with an appeal launched by defence lawyers against the conviction of opposition leader Alexander Kozulin. The appeal was handed to Minsk city court.

A Minsk court sentenced him to 5 1/2 months in jail last week on charges of hooliganism and incitement to mass disorder.

One of two opposition hopefuls to challenge Lukashenko's re-election bid in March, Kozulin urged protesters in unprecedented demonstrations sparked by the election to march on a prison where their comrades were being held.

At least 600 demonstrators were jailed for up to 15 days for less serious public order offences. Several members of the opposition group Partnership are in detention awaiting trial on charges of plotting to seize power during the election.

The United States and European Union criticised the sentence against Kozulin. Both said the election, in which Lukashenko was credited with 83

Source:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20060721-0813-rights-belarus.html