{"id":12399,"date":"2023-06-27T14:41:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T14:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=12399"},"modified":"2024-06-12T13:34:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T13:34:43","slug":"persecution-for-symbols-belarus-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2023\/06\/27\/persecution-for-symbols-belarus-2022.html","title":{"rendered":"Persecution for symbols. Belarus, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

This document contains information about the persecution of people in Belarus for using the national white-red-white symbols \u2013 the flag, coat-of-arms “Pahonia” (Pursuit), and any combination of red and white colours. Like the last year’s report<\/span><\/a>, it describes cases of criminal prosecution against those who caused damage to the official state symbol – the red-green flag. With the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 came repressions in Belarus for expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine, in particular for anti-war statements and the use of the official Ukrainian symbols – the national flag and the coat of arms “Trident\/Trebuchet” (and also a combination of blue and yellow colours). We view the abovementioned situations as violating the cultural right to use (non-banned) symbols as a form of free expression.<\/p>\n

The report collates data gathered from the following open sources: websites and social media channels of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” (the primary data set); several Belarusian independent media outlets (authorities designated most of them as “extremist”); Belarusian state-run media (mainly, concerning persecution for causing damage to the official state symbols).<\/p>\n

NB: For the sake of users’ information safety, we do not provide direct links to the sources of information if accessing them is criminalised under the active regulations in the Republic of Belarus.<\/i><\/p>\n

I. Violation of the right to use the white-red-white symbols<\/a>
\n<\/span>II. Violation of the right to use Ukrainian symbols<\/a>
\n<\/span>III. Criminal prosecution for desecration of State symbols<\/a>
\n<\/span>IV. Conclusion: public policy on symbols<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/a>I. VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO USE THE WHITE-RED-WHITE SYMBOLS\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The white-red-white flag and the Pahonia (Pursuit) coat of arms symbolise the national movement for an independent and democratic Belarus. Around these symbols rallied supporters of change during the 2020 post-election protests in response to the falsified voting results, subsequent unprecedented violence against civilians and lies of state propaganda. The repression machine aims to destroy and discredit these symbols today. Historically, the white-red-white (biel-\u010dyrvona-biely<\/i>, colloquial B\u010cB<\/i>) flag and coat-of-arms were the state flag and coat-of-arms during the periods of the Belarusian People’s Republic (1918\u20131919) and the Republic of Belarus (1991\u20131995). The 2007 Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 578 added the Pursuit coat of arms to the intangible historical and cultural heritage list. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2022, we recorded 120 cases of persecution of Belarusians for white-red-white symbols. The number is generally less than 335 registered in 2021. However, this fact speaks not about the weakening of repressions against supporters of democratic changes but about the success of the state apparatus in suppressing any form of dissent. It is worth noting that the collected data does not reflect the actual scale of pressure on citizens for the use of B\u010cB (WRW) symbols, as not all facts become known to the public and media, nor could all of them have come to the attention of the PEN monitors. Another difficulty in capturing this type of persecution is that it is not always provable beyond a reasonable doubt whether the symbols were the original cause of the repression in the first place. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In most of the monitored cases symbols, citizens were subjected to administrative prosecution over WRW symbols. However, criminal prosecution also occurred. In many instances, it is only known that the person was <\/i>“detained<\/i>“, “summoned to the police<\/i>“, “forced to paint over <\/i>[the symbols]”, “recorded a penitential video<\/i>“, etc. Most often, a person was detained and prosecuted directly for the images of the WRW flag and Pursuit, occasionally \u2013 for using items, objects or accessories in white and red colouring.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/span>Administrative prosecution for white-red-white symbols<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In most cases, administrative offence reports drawn up for the use of WRW symbols referred to the 30 December 1997 Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 114-3 “On Mass Events in the Republic of Belarus” under Article 24.23 (1) of the Code of Administrative Offences (CAO) (“Violation of the order of organising or holding mass events”). Sometimes, authorities applied Articles 19.1 (“disorderly conduct”) or 19.11 (“dissemination, production, storage and transportation of information materials calling for extremist activities or promoting such activities”). As for ‘popular’ Article 24.23 of the CAO [Article 23.34 in the old version], the wording “unauthorised picketing<\/i>” migrated from one offence report to another in all its conceivable and unthinkable forms: picketing by placing a flag in a window \/ pictures in social media \/ photos of strangers; by a hat \/ stickers \/ a car frame \/ a scarf \/ a tattoo \/ a bag \/ a calendar sale ad, etc. Below are several examples of such “picketing”.<\/p>\n

Persecution for the WRW flag and the coat of arms “Pursuit”<\/b><\/p>\n