CEDAW/C/49/D/23/2009
said, “Hands off”. After a moment, he poked her buttock with his finger. In response
to her second “Hands off”, he said that she should be grateful that they were not
undressing her. Another security guard allegedly threatened to strip her naked.
2.8 The guards made frequent humiliating comments about the author. For
example, when they saw her standing next to the light bulb reading, one of the
guards commented that she needed “to see a psychiatrist”. On several occasions, the
guards “joked” that she would be “taken outside and shot”. Furthermore, instead of
calling her by her name, they called her “the fourth”, as that was the number of the
bed she was occupying in her cell. At one point, a prison guard threw a dead rat into
the cell that she was sharing. When she and her cellmates jumped on their beds
screaming in fear, the guard was laughing.
2.9
(i)
The author availed herself of the following domestic remedies:
Complaint to the competent authorities (in accordance with the Law of the Republic
of Belarus “On Petition” and the Law “On Internal Affairs Organs”)
On 19 December 2007, the author submitted a complaint of violation of her
rights in detention to the head of the Interior Department of Lenin District and to the
head of the Interior Division of the Brest Regional Executive Committee. By a letter
of 3 January 2008, the author was informed by the head of the Interior Department
that her allegations had not been verified. The author filed another complaint with
the head of the Interior Division of the Brest Regional Executive Committee on
5 February 2008; her petition was forwarded to the head of the Interior Department
of Lenin District, who informed her on 27 February 2008 that her claims had not
been confirmed.
(ii)
Complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office, in conformity with the Law of the Republic of
Belarus “On the Public Prosecutor’s Office”
On 19 December 2007, the complaint was lodged with the Prosecutor of Lenin
District of Brest City. The Prosecutor informed the author that her claims had not
been confirmed and her allegations had not been verified. The author’s complaint of
5 February 2008 submitted to the Prosecutor of Brest Region remained unanswered.
(iii)
Application to the courts under the civil procedure
On 11 February 2008, the author filed an application with the Lenin District
Court, under the civil procedure, in accordance with article 353 of the Belarusian
Code of Civil Procedure, of violation of her right under article 7 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights not to be subjected to inhuman treatment and
her right under the Convention not to be subjected to discrimination on the basis of
her sex. On 14 February 2008, the court stated that it refused to initiate civil
proceedings on the grounds that it did not have jurisdiction over her case. She
appealed against the decision to the Judicial Board on Civil Cases of the Brest
Regional Court on 7 March 2008, which rejected her appeal on 10 April 2008.
(iv)
Application to the courts under the administrative procedure
On 11 March 2008, the author submitted a complaint of violation of her rights
not to be subjected to inhuman treatment and not to be discriminated against on the
basis of her sex to the Lenin District Court of Brest City under the procedure for
4
11-51730