AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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FACTS OF THE CASE:

Dr. Yury Bandazhevsky is a founder of the Gomel Medical Institute and served as its rector until 1999. He is a well-respected medical specialist and an expert on the effects of radiation exposure. Bandazhevsky is also an outspoken critic of the Belarusian government's handling of the health risks caused by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.

In 1999, Bandazhevsky wrote a report on research conducted at the Institute of Radiation Medicine, a research institution that is part of the Belarusian Ministry of Health. Bandazhevsky's report criticized the way the Ministry of Health was spending its resources, and questioned the Institute's scientific findings. Bandazhevsky has contended that the Institute for Radiation Medicine has not properly researched the effects of radiation contamination.

The Institute of Radiation Medicine supports a new Belarusian policy that removes restrictions on contaminated foods, leaving citizens to find their own precautions to avoid possible health risks associated with eating contaminated foods. Bandazhevsky has been critical of this policy, charging that the Belarusian government has not spent enough resources researching the health hazards of radiation contamination and has also not provided adequate information on this issue to the public.

In July 1999, Bandazhevsky was arrested in the middle of the night at his home in Gomel. According to the Belarusian security forces, the legal basis of his arrest fell under the presidential decree "On Urgent Measures for the Combat of Terrorism and Other Especially Dangerous Violent Crimes," a measure that is usually used only for the arrest of violent criminals or terrorists. In August, he was charged with taking bribes from students seeking admission to his research institute. A convicted carries a sentence of five to fifteen years' imprisonment and confiscation of property.

Throughout his detention, Bandazhevsky was denied basic rights. He was held for a month without being charged. Bandazhevsky was not given access to a lawyer or allowed to see his family for three weeks. He was finally able to contact his lawyer, but before the lawyer's first visit to see his client, Bandazhevsky was transferred to a prison in Mogilev 100 miles away. His lawyer continued to have trouble gaining access to consult with his client in Mogilev because Bandazhevsky was held in a temporary isolation cell for a month. Later, Bandazhevsky was transferred to a maximum-security prison in Minsk. While in prison, he suffered from a stomach condition. These are all harsh measures for someone charged with taking bribes at a private institution. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether the Belarusian authorities have any evidence to support this charge. A colleague of Bandazhevsky initially made the allegations of bribery against Bandazhevsky, but subsequently withdrew the statement.

Yury Bandazhevsky is highly regarded for his work in researching the effects of radiation. Belarus was one of the hardest hit areas in the accident at Chernobyl. Health problems have continued to plague the population and have been complicated by the nation's struggling economy. Bandazhevsky specifically chose to set up his medical institute in Gomel, which is in the center of the worst affected region in Belarus.

Yury Bandazhevsky was released from pre-trial detention in December 1999. A condition of his release was that he was not to leave Minsk, which is 250 miles from his home in Gomel. Bandazhevsky was recently allowed to return to Gomel and is currently awaiting the investigation of his case, a process that is expected to take more than a year. Human rights organizations have expressed concern about the prospects of a fair trial.

Relevant Human Rights Treaties:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

• Article 19: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: (Belarus is a state party.)

• Article 9(2): Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.
• Article 19: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

(Sources of Information for this case include: Amnesty International, The Guardian, Nuclear Resister, and World Information Service on Energy)

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send telegrams, faxes, airmail letters or emails:

• Express concern that Yury Bandazhevsky may be targeted because of his criticism of the government's health policies;
• Express concern that Yury Bandazhevsky's basic rights were denied following his arrest;
• Express concern that the charges appear to baseless as the individual who initially made the allegations, has since withdrawn the statements;
• Respectfully request that an independent and impartial investigation be conducted in an expeditious manner and that if evidence does not exist to support the charge of bribery that all charges against Yury Bandazhevsky be dropped.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

His Excellency Aleksandr Lukashenko
President of the Republic of Belarus
Office of the President
Respublika Belarus
220016 g. Minsk
Ul. Karla Marksa, 38
Administratsia Prezidenta
BELARUS
Fax: (011) 375 172 26 06 10
Salutation: Your Excellency:

His Excellency Vladimir V. Yermoshin
Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus
Respublika Belarus
220010 g. Minsk
Dom pravitelstva
ul. Internatsionalnaya
Sovet Ministrov Respubliki Belarus


His Excellency Henady Varantsov
Minister of Justice of the Republic of Belarus
Respublika Belarus
220084 g. Minsk
ul. Kollektornaya, 10
Ministerstvo yustitsii Respubliki
Belarus

COPIES SENT TO:

His Excellency Valery Viliamovich Tsepkalo
Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus
1619 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: (202) 986-1604
Fax: (202) 986-1805

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