CCPR/C/132/D/2711/2015
United Nations
International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights
Distr.: General
12 November 2021
Original: English
Advance unedited version
Human Rights Committee
Views adopted by the Committee under the Optional
Protocol, concerning communication No. 2711/2015*,**
Communication submitted by:
Olga Pichugina, represented by counsel, Roman
Kisliak
Alleged victim:
The author
State party:
Belarus
Date of communication:
6 March 2009 (initial submission)
Document references:
Decision taken pursuant to rule 92 of the
Committee’s rules of procedure, transmitted to
the State party on 23 December 2015 (not issued
in document form)
Date of adoption of Views:
7 July 2021
Subject matter:
Inhuman and degrading treatment; conditions of
detention
Procedural issues:
Ratione personae
Substantive issues:
Torture; cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment; conditions of detention
Articles of the Covenant:
2, 3, 7, 10 (1) and 14 (1)
Article of the Optional Protocol:
3
1.
The author of the communication is Ms. Olga Pichugina, a national of Poland born in
1962.1 She claims that the State party has violated her rights under articles 2, 3, 7, 10 (1) and
14 (1) of the Covenant. The Optional Protocol entered into force for the State party on 30
December 1992. The author is represented by counsel. The communication was initially
submitted in 2009 but was not registered until 2015. The delay occurred due to shortcomings
in supporting documents submitted by the author and shortage of staff at the Secretariat.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
The author was travelling on a night train from Moscow to Warsaw when at 6:30 am
on 20 April 2002, she was arrested in Brest, Belarus by a customs inspector for attempting
* Adopted by the Committee at its 132nd session (28 June-23 July 2021).
** The following members of the Committee participated in the examination of the communication:
Tania Abdo Rocholl, Wafaa Ashraf Moharram Bassim, Yadh Ben Achour, Arif Bulkan, Mahjoub El
Haiba, Shuichi Furuya, Kobauyah Kpatcha Tchamdja, Carlos Gómez Martínez, Duncan Laki
Muhumuza, Hernán Quezada, Vasilka Sancin, José Manuel Santos Pais, , Hélène Tigroudja, Imeru
Tamerat Yigezu, and Gentian Zyberi.
1 Also see Pichugina v. Belarus (CCPR/C/108/D/1592/2007).