Will Tikhanovskaya and Latushko’s sentence stop them?
On March 6, a court in Minsk issued a default verdict in the “Case of the Coordination Council”. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Pavel Latushko to 18 years. Olga Kovalkova, Sergei Dylevsky and Maria Moroz – they were also recognized as defendants in the “Coordinating Council case” – were sentenced in absentia to 12 years. DW collected the reactions of politicians and also spoke with a lawyer and political scientist about why Belarusian authorities handed down such harsh sentences and how this will affect the political activities of those convicted.
What do convicted politicians think about the sentences?
“Today, the court in absentia handed down the so-called sentence of 15 years in prison,” wrote Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on her Telegram channel. The investigation charged her with ten counts at once: unauthorized appropriation of title and power, assisting a foreign state in actions against national security, conspiracy to seize power, incitement to hatred, creation of an extremist group, obstruction of work of the CEC and others. Prosecutor Mikhail Kovalev asked for 19 years in prison for her, Judge Pyotr Orlov sentenced her in absentia to 15 years in prison.
According to Tikhanovskaya, she does not think about what the Belarusian authorities wanted to tell her with this verdict. “With or without him”, she intends to continue “to do everything in her power to free political prisoners and lead the country towards democratic change”.
The head of the NAU, former diplomat Pavel Latushko, was sentenced in absentia to 18 years in a strict regime colony. In your video message he said he intended to continue fighting for freedom and democracy. “A sentence in absentia allows you to continue fighting, to move forward, without turning back, towards the goal that I have set myself in my life: to achieve a free and democratic Belarus, where there will be no political prisoners.”
He also addressed the governments of EU countries and the United States and asked for support, namely: to close cargo communication with the EU to Belarus, tighten sanctions against Belarus, recognize the KGB and GUBOPiK as terrorist organizations, create a special court to try the Lukashenka regime for systematic violations of human rights. “Yes, these are virtual terms. This is not a real court. But this fake court actually keeps thousands of Belarusians and Belarusian women in prison, illegally convicted of politically motivated sentences,” Latushko said.
Olga Kovalkova noted that on March 6, the day of the verdict, she “accepted congratulations.” “It motivates me to move forward, to fight for democracy, for the release of our friends who are in Belarusian prisons, so that in Belarus the opinions of different people are heard and we respect each other” (translated from Belarusian – Ed.), she commented briefly on the verdict.
How will the verdict affect the work of politicians?
The political activities of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Pavel Latushko are associated with travel and visits to different countries. Will having a criminal record affect them? Can they be detained and extradited when there is a decision of the Belarusian court? A lawyer, specialist in the field of international legal cooperation Ales Mikhalevich believes that this is unlikely. “They will not have additional extradition threats. If Interpol did not accept the request of the Belarusian authorities when Tikhanovskaya was in the accused status, it is unlikely that he will meet now. On the contrary, many countries may have additional questions about the fact that politicians have been convicted in absentia: this violates a person’s right to defence.”
According to Mikhalevich, there are countries from which Tikhanovskaya is likely to be extradited: for example, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russian Federation. But if she goes there at the official invitation, then this is unlikely to happen. “For example, Turkey is a rather unsafe country for ordinary activists. But if Tikhanovskaya is invited there at the highest level, it is unlikely that she will be detained and extradited to the Belarusian authorities. For people of her level, nothing will change.”
Others convicted in the case – Sergei Dylevsky, Olga Kovalkova, Maria Moroz – are not so public figures. What are the consequences for them? Mikhalevich assumes that they will not be extradited either, but advises them “under no circumstances to travel to countries like Turkey or Egypt”. “But I’m sure they won’t,” says the lawyer.
Why did Latushko receive more than Tikhanovskaya?
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was accused of more charges than Pavel Latushko, but he was the one who received a longer sentence. Pavel Matskevich, senior researcher at the Center for New Ideas, believes that the answer to this question lies on the surface: Pavel Latushko comes from the state apparatus: he worked as a minister of culture and ambassador. Therefore, the Belarusian authorities consider him a “traitor”, says Matsukevich. “All those who left the public service, from the point of view of the Belarusian authorities, are traitors. For them, therefore, special conditions of punishment. I think this is also a sign for those who remained in the system, which risks any participation in activity of protest entails”.
Will they be able to sell the confiscated houses from politicians?
According to Ales Mikhalevich, the idea of trials by default is “a sign of the regime’s impotence”. The only advantage they give is the possibility of confiscating assets, believes the lawyer. But even with this, not everything is so simple. On March 6, the arrested apartment of Sergei Tikhanovsky was put up for auction, but it did not take place: there were no people willing to participate. “It would be surprising if there were people willing to acquire such a dubious asset,” says analyst Pavel Matsukevich. From a normal person’s point of view, this is a dubious acquisition.”
By court decision, a land plot and a house in Zhdanovichi, as well as more than 50 thousand euros in accounts are confiscated from Pavel Latushka, housing in Minsk and money in the account of Olga Kovalkova, two cars from Sergei Dylevsky and a part of a house in Brestskaya from Maria Moroz areas.
Ales Mikhalevich believes that if the authorities lower the prices of confiscated goods below market prices, there may be people who want to buy them, “even though they know they are going to use them for a relatively short time”. “I think Belarusians are well aware that buying something that has been grossly squeezed, illegally taken out is a gross violation of the right to private property.”
Preventive measure?
Analyst Pavel Matsukevich notes that issuing such sentences has already become routine in Belarus. Thus, the Belarusian authorities demonstrate their strength: in whose hands is the judicial system. At the same time, according to the analyst, they are trying to convince at least part of society that people like Tikhanovskaya and Latushko are criminals. “Disagreement with what is happening in Belarus and an attempt to defend someone’s civil rights is somehow equated with a serious violent crime. They are trying to impose on society that this will happen to everyone, so that people are obedient and do not participate in life politics.”
According to Matsukevich, such big terms for politicians can be a preventive measure of the Belarusian authorities so that they cannot return to the country if the situation changes non-dramatically. He believes that the situation is much more difficult for those who are in Belarus, receive long sentences and serve them in prisons. “Now, the most important question is whether it will be possible to release people before these inhuman sentences. I think these sentences are not a surprise for either Latushka or Tikhanovskaya. But they have relatives who are in prison. And this is very serious.” this whole story seems like a problem we can’t solve.”
Source: DW
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