Aliaksei Karol: "Disproportionate Punishment"
On March 17, 2006, the Civil Court made a decision to shut down the newspaper Zgoda. However, this did not cease the criminal case against Zgoda’s former editor, Aliaksandar Zdvizhkou. It was only temporarily suspended last summer when he stopped appearing to the questioning and became a wanted criminal. He was detained on November 18, 2007 in the city of Barysau, when he came from Moscow to visit his mother for the annual anniversary since his father’s death. The proceedings were resumed. Since the day of his arrest Aleksandr Sdvizhkov is being held in the internal KGB prison.
On January 2008, Aliaksandar Zdvizhkou was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment in a high security penitentiary, according to article 130/2 of the Criminal code of Republic of Belarus. He was charged with stirring of religious intolerance and hatred. Doing so while using his official position made the punishment more severe. This is the first time that this particular criminal article was carried out in Belarus.
As a former Editor-in-Chief of Zgoda, I believe that Aliaksandar Zdvizhkou’s sentencing astounds by its disproportionate punishment:
First, the fact that the print run of infamous issue with the cartoons has not been distributed was not taken into account. As an editor in chief, I gave an order to the public distributors to dispose of the entire newspaper circulation on the next day after it came out from the printing house. The reprint of the cartoons was done without my knowledge, and it was absolutely necessary to resolve the old problem of contradiction between the freedom of speech and religious sentiment in the latter’s favor. It was not difficult to foresee the political repercussions of the cartoon reprint on the general background of the “Cartoon war” and especially taking into account the specifics of the situation in a pending elections country.
Second, the court ignored the fact that the cartoon reprint did not have any repercussions, i.e. did not cause any escalation of inter-confessional relations or religious hatred, and did not cause any religion-based conflicts.
Third, none of the European countries witnessed the printing of the cartoon causing the punishment in the form of imprisonment of editors, even at the peak of “Cartoon war” controversy. The consequences were limited to firing of the guilty parties and suspension of the newspaper circulation. All of the aforementioned punishments were already carried out for Zgoda and Aliaksandr Zdvizhkou.
Fourth, Belarusian legislation does not qualify the reprint from another publication as a criminal act. The responsibility resides with the original publication.
Fifth, Muslim community in Belarus did not demand such cruel punishment. Moreover, they long forgave the reprint, as expressed by Imam Ismail Varanovich. They were asking to limit the punishment to giving the journalist a verbal warning.
Aliaksandar Zdvizhkou intends to appeal the court decision in the Supreme Court of Republic of Belarus. Due to this appeal, in my commentary to journalists on the court decision, I addressed the Muslim community with the request to file a written statement to the court requesting softening the punishment for Aliaksandar Zdvizhkou. This would be a priceless step for the support of accord in the Belarusian society.
The explanation of this disproportionate punishment for the crime that did not happen, lies in the general policy of the authorities, policy aimed at limiting freedom of speech and independent media in Belarus. It shows the intensification of repressions against the opposition, especially evident recently.
