Head of OSCE Office criticizes prison sentences passed on two accused of defaming Belarus President

MINSK, 8 September 2004 - A judge of the Leninsky District Court in Grodno yesterday sentenced Valery Levonevsky and his deputy Alexander Vasilyev to two years imprisonment for defaming the President of Belarus.

Mr. Levonevsky chairs a market vendors' strike committee in Grodno and has organized public protest actions. He and his associate, Mr. Vasilyev, stood accused of slandering the President after distributing leaflets with a poem by an unknown author at an unsanctioned rally in May.

The leaflet was assessed by the prosecutor and the court as defamatory, although President Aleksandr Lukashenko was not personally named in the leaflet.

"The outcome of these court cases represents another instance where the sentence is unjustifiably harsh in relation to the alleged deed," said Ambassador Eberhard Heyken, Head of the OSCE Office in Minsk.

Mr. Levonevsky was first arrested earlier this year in connection with a May Day rally and sentenced to 15 days administrative arrest for organizing an unauthorized rally. Subsequently, the more serious charges of defaming the President were brought against him. Both the accused denied all charges and have 10 days to make an appeal to a court at the regional level.

Both Mr. Levonevsky and Mr. Vasilyev had intended running for a seat in the upcoming parliamentary elections. However, Mr Levonevsky decided to drop his candidature following the announcement of criminal charges against him on 26 August. Mr Vasilyev has already collected the required 1,000 signatures to enable him to stand as a candidate.