SPECIAL PROJECT
This is a civic investigation into offences by the police in connection with peaceful protests
We will not publish your personal data without your consent.
Any analysis will not contain your name, individual reports or contacts.
HAVE YOU BEEN DETAINED,
FINED OR BEATEN?
23.34 is the number that many Belarusians learned in the summer of 2020. This is an article of the Administrative Offences code about the violation of the organisation or holding public assemblies/gatherings. This article is used as a ground for unlawful detentions of the Belarusians, punishments by arrests and fines, beatings and abuses. The article that should not exist in the new Belarus, because its very existence violates the Constitution.
Our goal is to collect information about all the violations by the police related to peacefulassemblies, starting from the beginning of the electoral campaign.
We will conduct a large public investigation into all episodes of psychological and physical violence, torture, ill-treatment and unlawful prosecution under Article 23.34 and other articles that the authorities use to repress participants of peaceful assemblies.
If you have been detained during, after or in connection with peaceful protests and/or have been tried under Articles 23.34, 23.4 or related, we ask you to share information about your case with us.
The number of documented stories
With your permission, your story can be made available to our media partners for publication. Click on the links below to read the latest published stories
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August 2020 publications
TUT.BY publications
Why we collect this data?
1
Fair trials of all perpetrators
The ultimate goal of the project is fair trials for all perpetrators who are involved inhuman rights violations. We want no story to be forgotten.
We aim at preserving information on each unfair trial, each false testimony and each protocol under article 23.34 and related for the Belarusians for the time when thiseverything would be over.
2
Each your story is important
We want to record every single fact of violence, psychological or physical. If you have been subjected to torture, humiliation, abuses, if you have been denied medical assistance in a timely manner, if the conditions of your detention have been inhumane, we ask you to fill out this form.
If you were treated politely and respectfully, we still ask you to fill out the form, because the very existence of this article is a violation of the Constitution.
There are no small stories, every story is very important.
3
Full picture of what is happening
We want to see the full picture of what is happening and get up-to-date statistics on how many detentions and trials have taken place in the country, how many people were beaten and doused with a water cannon, how many were insulted and humiliated in prisoner transporters, in which district police stations policemen used violence more frequently, which courts and judges are "record holders" for passing unjust sentences, and much more.
We also want to share these statistics with all Belarusians without publishing anyone’s personal data.
4
Information for international organisations
We will prepare information for international organisations. If necessary and with your consent we will include your case in the reports for human rights organisations, international courts and our partners who need this information today for defending victims’ interests in international institutions.
5
Providing aid if necessary
If you need help, we will refer your case to volunteer initiatives.
If necessary, we will send your data to our partners from human rights organisations and funds so that they can help you.
About article 23.34
Why does article 23.34 violate the Constitution and why do we fight for its cancellation?
The Belarusians are prosecuted under Article 23.34 when according to the authorities they violate the Law on Mass Events, adopted in 1997. The Law itself is a violation of the obligations of Belarus with regard to the political rights of citizens. In simple terms, this Law was developed specifically to limit the possibilities for people who want to express their civil position to go out to the streets. The law and its amendments effectively deprive the Belarusians of the right to peaceful assembly, guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is legally binding on the Republic of Belarus.
Nowadays, in order to exercise the right to peaceful assembly in Belarus, the organisers of the planned event must go through a number of restrictive procedures that make organisation of anyassembly almost impossible. Among them are the following: submission of request in accordance with the law no later than 15 days before an event, which can be rejected without any explanation and in practice is usually rejected for far-fetched reasons; providing the site of an event with security services, medical assistance and cleaning; and paying significant costs. At the same time, a meeting of more than 1000 people can be organised only by political parties, trade unions, and other organisations, but not by ordinary people. All these requirements are in addition to the fact that meetings can only be held in specially designated venues, which are often located in inconvenient and unpopular places far from the city centers and governmental buildings.
These and other limitations make the approval for peaceful assemblies impossible. Consequently, participation in them is interpreted as a violation of the law.
In the same way as citizens of other countries, the Belarusians have a right to express their civic position through peaceful assemblies and are not to be prosecuted under article 23.34
What can you do?
Please fill out this form if you have been detained – it will take just about
15 min.
Share the link to our project to allow others learn about it.
1. We will not publish your personal data without your consent. Any analysis will not contain your name, individual documents or contacts.
2. At your request and with your consent we could send your data to our partners, specifically to mutual aid funds, human rights organisations and mass media. You can give consent for this in the form, but this is optional.
3. Data exchange happens using an encrypted channel, data is kept on secure servers with certification SOC 1, SOC 2, as well as international standards on data security ISO 27001.
4. Your data can be deleted at any time after you complete the form, for this send the subsequentrequest to our Telegram: t.me/belarus_2334.