CCPR/C/122/D/2212/2012
Articles of the Covenant:
7, 9, 10, 14, 17, 19, 21 and 26
Article of the Optional Protocol:
2
1.
The author of the communication is Andrei Sannikov, a national of Belarus born in
1954. He claims that the State party has violated his rights under articles 7, 9, 10, 14, 17, 19,
21 and 26 of the Covenant. The Optional Protocol entered into force for Belarus on 30
December 1992. The author is unrepresented.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
The author is a politician and activist. He was a career diplomat, who served in
various high-ranking positions,2 including as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995
to 1996, and obtained the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. In
November 1996, he resigned from the position of Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, in
protest against a referendum held that year that led to the amendment of the Constitution of
Belarus, expanding the powers of the executive and limiting certain rights and freedoms. In
November 1997, he co-founded the Charter 97 civil initiative. He organized non-violent
protests against the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2008.
In 2005, he was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize for services to human rights. In 2008,
together with a group of other prominent Belarusian politicians, he launched the European
Belarus civil campaign. 3 He considers himself to be one of the leaders of the political
opposition in Belarus.
2.2
In October 2010, the author registered as a candidate for the presidential elections
scheduled for 19 December 2010, along with nine other candidates, including the President
of Belarus, Mr. Aleksandr Lukashenko. During his electoral campaign, the author made
numerous statements to the media and to voters referring to the illegitimacy of the
incumbent President’s powers, and criticizing the regime and the undemocratic nature of
the electoral process. In particular, he encouraged his supporters to join a peaceful
demonstration in support of the opposition during the evening of election day. The
demonstration was supposed to start at 8 p.m. in Oktyabrskaya Square, in the centre of
Minsk, and seven other presidential candidates also called on their respective supporters to
participate in the event.
2.3
The author submits that, pursuant to articles 5 and 9 of the Public Events Act of 30
December 1997, all public gatherings are subject to prior authorization by the authorities, in
this case, the Minsk City Executive Committee, and that the square chosen by the
organizers for the peaceful demonstration was not among the locations approved for that
purpose by the Minsk authorities. 4 The author was fully aware that, in the absence of
official authorization, the demonstration would be considered unlawful, and he had been
warned by the Prosecutor General’s Office that such a public event was impermissible. The
author maintains, however, that neither he nor the other opposition candidates applied for
authorization to organize the demonstration, since they knew that, given the prevailing
political climate and administrative practices, there was no chance that it would be granted.
Nevertheless, during the election campaign, the author and other opposition candidates
attempted to discuss the upcoming event with the competent authorities. They
unsuccessfully requested meetings with the Minister for Internal Affairs and the Head of
the State Security Agency, and, on 17 December 2010, during an interview, the Head of the
State Security Agency said that law enforcement officers could not discuss requests to hold
demonstrations with the opposition because such events were illegal.5
2
3
4
5
2
From 1992 to 1995, the author headed the delegation of Belarus on nuclear and conventional weapons
disarmament negotiations, and had the authority to sign on the matter on behalf of Belarus. From
1993 to 1995, the author was an advisor to the diplomatic mission of Belarus in Switzerland.
The campaign advocates the accession of Belarus to the European Union and is aimed at promoting
the fulfilment of the criteria in that regard.
Reference is made to points 1 and 2 of decision No. 1302 of 3 December 1998 of the Minsk City
Executive Committee prohibiting the organization of gatherings, meetings, street processions,
demonstrations and pickets in Oktyabrskaya Square, Minsk.
The author states that references to the interview are included in Emmanuel Decaux, “OSCE
rapporteur’s report on Belarus” (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 28 May 2012),