AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

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FACTS OF THE CASE:

On 18 June 2001, a military court in Gomel sentenced Dr. Yury Bandazhevsky, 43, to eight years in prison and stripped him of his military rank on charges of taking bribes from his students. In addition to the prison sentence, the authorities also seized his property and prohibited Dr. Bandazhevsky from assuming any managerial and political functions for the first five years after his arrest. Belarusian security forces detained Dr. Bandazhevsky a week before his trial as he was attempting to cross the border into Ukraine, allegedly with a false passport. Few clear details exist about the incident and the only information available at this time is the government's version of the events. Dr. Bandazhevsky is currently in jail and has exhausted almost all appeal processes available to him in Belarus. The only recourse in Belarus is a presidential pardon. Now that all domestic avenues for redress have been exhausted, Dr. Bandazhevsky's lawyers are preparing an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Many human rights organizations and scientific societies believe that the charges of bribery may be related to Dr. Bandazhevsky's past criticisms of the government. Dr. Bandazhevsky is a respected medical specialist and an expert on the effects of radiation exposure. He has also been an outspoken critic of the way the Belarusian government has handled the health risks caused by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. In 1999, Dr. 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. The report criticized the way the Ministry of Health was spending its resources. Dr. Bandazhevsky also contended that the Institute did not properly research the effects of radiation contamination. His research demonstrated a correlation between daily ingestion of food contaminated with Cesium 137 with a dramatic increase in morbidity and mortality among the exposed population, especially children. The Institute supported a new Belarusian policy that removes restrictions on contaminated foods, leaving citizens to take their own precautions to avoid possible health risks associated with eating contaminated foods. Dr. Bandazhevsky had been critical of this policy, charging that the Belarusian government had not spent sufficient resources researching the health hazards of radiation contamination and had also not provided adequate information on this issue to the public.

In addition, the case is marked by several irregularities. Vladimir Ravkov, the colleague of Dr. Bandazhevsky who initially made the allegations of bribery, subsequently withdrew the statement and claimed that the testimony he gave was the result of torture inflicted by the security forces. He stated that security forces interrogated him for 14-16 hours a day, denied him food and sleep, and threatened to harm his wife and daughter. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Advisory and Monitoring Group for Belarus issued a statement stating that no evidence had been provided to the court to substantiate Prof. Bandazhevsky's guilt. Throughout his detention, Dr. Bandazhevsky was denied basic rights. This included being held for a month without charge and denied access to a lawyer and his family for three weeks.

(Sources of information include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Advisory and Monitoring Group for Belarus.)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• Article 9(2): Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his [or her] arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him [or her].
• Article 19(1): Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

• Article 12: (1): The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. (2): The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for: (c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases; (d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send telegrams, faxes, airmail letters or emails:

• Express concern that the charges appear to unfounded as the individual who initially made the allegations has since withdrawn the statements and independent observers have stated that no material evidence was introduced during the trial to support the charge of bribery;
• Express concern that, without evidence to support the conviction on bribery charges, it appears that Dr. Yury Bandazhevsky is being targeted because of his criticism of the government's health policies;
• Express concern that Yury Bandazhevsky's basic rights were denied following his arrest; and
• Urge the government to review the case and grant a pardon to Dr. Yury Bandazhevsky.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

His Excellency Aleksandr Lukashenko
President of the Republic of Belarus
Office of the President
220010 Minsk, Minsk oblast
Belarus
Faxes: 011 375 172 223872 or 011 375 172 260610
ires@president.gov.by
Salutation: Dear Mr. President

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
Fax: 011 375 (172) 29-69-55
Salutation: Dear Mr. Prime Minister

His Excellency Henady Varantsov
Minister of Justice of the Republic of Belarus
Respublika Belarus
220084 g. Minsk
ul. Kollektornaya, 10
Ministerstvo yustitsii Respubliki
Belarus
Tel: 011 375 (172) 20 96 84
Salutation: Dear Mr. Minister

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
Fax: (202) 986-1805
Salutation: Dear Mr. Ambassador

Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to Victoria Baxter, AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6796; email vbaxter@aaas.org; or fax 202-289-4950.

The keys to effective appeals re to be courteous and respectful, accurate and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.

To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting unless an update has been issued.

To verify the contents of this alert and/or the electronic signature, please download the signed file for this alert along with the Program's PGP Public Key.

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