CASE N° BLS/01 - Andrei Klimov
CASE N° BLS/05 - Victor Gonchar
CASE N° BLS/10 - Valery Shchukin

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 169th session (Ouagadougou, 14 September 2001)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the resolution it adopted at its 168th session (April 2001) on the case of Mr. Victor Gonchar, Mr. Andrei Klimov and Mr. Valery Shchukin, all members of the Thirteenth Supreme Soviet of Belarus elected in 1995, and to the related report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians,

Having heard the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Issues of the House of Representatives, who was a member of the delegation of Belarus to the 106th Conference (Ouagadougou, September 2001),

Recalling that, in April 2001, the Deputy Minister of the Interior reported that members of a gang suspected to be responsible for Mr. Gonchar's disappearance had been arrested, that the investigation was about to be concluded and that Parliament would be among the first to be informed; considering that, according to the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Issues, the investigation is still under way and Parliament has received no information in this respect,

Recalling that Mr. Klimov, who is serving a six-year prison term, was not included in the amnesty law of August 2000 because, as the authorities stated, an appeal against the judgment handed down on him in March 2000 was still pending at the time; the appeal was turned down in December 2000 for good conduct; considering that, according to the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Issues, Mr. Klimov may be granted early release on 11 August 2002 for good conduct; recalling further that, according to the sources, Mr. Klimov is suffering from incipient diabetes and a heart disease; according to the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Issues, Mr. Klimov is in good health and had no complaints when OSCE Ambassador Wieck paid him a visit,

Recalling that Mr. Shchukin has on many occasions been arrested, detained or fined for participating in unauthorised demonstrations and "hooliganism", the latest incident having reportedly occurred on 18 May 2001, and affirms that he suffered police ill-treatment on various occasions without the police acting upon his complaint; the authorities affirmed that investigation of his complaints revealed no such ill-treatment,

1. Thanks the Chairman of the Standing Committee for Legislation and Judicial and Legal Issues for the information and observations he provided;

2. Is deeply concerned that, two years after Mr. Gonchar's disappearance, the investigations have still been unavailing, particularly in the light of previous information suggesting that results have been obtained; urges the authorities promptly to fulfil their duty to ascertain Mr. Gonchar's fate;

3. Considers that Parliament cannot remain indifferent to the disappearance of a Member of Parliament, albeit one belonging to a previous Parliament, and calls upon it to avail itself of its oversight responsibility in relation to this investigation;

4. Remains concerned at the continuing imprisonment of Mr. Klimov, particularly in view of the serious misgivings it has previously expressed about respect for the right to fair trial and the right to defend oneself, and the harshness of the sentence handed down on him, which it considers grossly disproportionate to the alleged offence;

5. Recalls that Belarus, as a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, is bound to respect the right to fair trial, an essential ingredient of which is the right to defence, as the European Court of Human Rights has consistently ruled;

6. Calls therefore once again on the authorities to grant Mr. Klimov an amnesty and to release him forthwith;

7. Notes that Mr. Shchukin is due for release on 12 September, and awaits confirmation of this;

8. Requests the Secretary General to convey this decision to the authorities and to the sources;

9. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (March 2002).

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