CCPR/C/112/D/1773/2008
The facts as presented by the author
2.1
Mr. Kozulin is a former Rector of the Belarusian State University and a former
Deputy Minister of Education. He became the Chair of the Belarusian Social Democratic
Party (Gramada) in March 2005 and a presidential candidate in 2006. Throughout the
campaign, he openly criticized the regime in place.
2.2
The National Press Centre was notified2 of Mr. Kozulin’s intention to conduct a
press conference and announce his campaign when he was registered as a presidential
candidate, on 17 February 2006, and initially he received verbal agreement, which was later
retracted. A group of unidentified individuals 3 closed the gates and prevented Mr. Kozulin
from entering the building to seek clarifications and hold the conference. An individual
used tear gas against one of Mr. Kozulin’s supporters; Mr. Kozulin apprehended the
assailant and handed him over to the police. However, later on, the police contended that
the assailant — a police officer — and two wardens were injured during the events and
Mr. Kozulin was accused of hooliganism.
2.3
On 2 March 2006, Mr. Kozulin was apprehended in the hall of the House of the
Railway Workers in Minsk when attempting to participate in the All Belarusian People’s
Assembly as a representative of his party. He was beaten by several unidentified people;
one individual grasped his arm and another jumped on his back. The videotape of the
events shows a colonel, D.P., approaching Mr. Kozulin, and witnesses testified that the
colonel administered a number of punches and kicks to Mr. Kozulin. Four to five
individuals then violently threw Mr. Kozulin into a police van, which was driven around
the city for an hour. He was placed between the seats with his legs against his head,
choking on his own blood. Once at the police station of the Oktyabrsk District in Minsk, he
realized that in fact he had been apprehended by the Almaz elite anti-terror unit. He was
kept at the station until 5 p.m. when the first session of the All Belarusian People’s
Assembly ended, for more than seven hours, and could not contact his relatives until the
arrival of his lawyer. Being beaten and exasperated, he punched the portrait of the President
on a wall and its frame broke.
2.4
A forensic medical examination of 3 March 2006 revealed the existence of a
multiple haematomas on Mr. Kozulin’s head and bruises on his face and hands; he refused
to have the rest of his body examined. A lawyer complained about his ill-treatment to the
Procurator’s Office; the complaint was rejected on 25 April 2006. Later on, in court,
members of the Almaz unit testified that Mr. Kozulin himself hit his head on the ground.
2.5
On 25 March 2006, after participating in a meeting on Freedom Day, Mr. Kozulin
walked together with other people towards a police facility, to support several persons
detained at protests against electoral fraud, including two of his nephews.4 They walked
peacefully on the sidewalk, but soldiers of the Internal Troops (from the Ministry of
Internal Affairs) used physical force, rubber batons, smoke devices and sound grenades,
and dispersed the crowd. Later on, near his home, Mr. Kozulin was severely beaten by
between five and seven officers in masks and he was brought to the Zavodsky District
police office. The same day, the Minister of Internal Affairs announced at a press
conference that Mr. Kozulin had caused public disorder; the Procurator’s Office issued a
similar statement.
2.6
At the Zavodsky District police station, an ambulance was called as Mr. Kozulin
complained about pain in his abdomen and his left leg. The doctor found a haematoma at
2
3
4
No dates specified.
As it subsequently transpired, belonging to a Special Purpose Police Unit.
The author claims that Mr. Kozulin did not organize the rally.
3