September

2000

From the editors

Dear businessmen! We have got the information that the employees of the militia, tax bodies and financial investigations carry out a number of checks of the separate businessmen and persons who are carrying out the businessman’s activity without the appropriate registration. Probably, the criminal cases in which the majority of you are be the participants will be instituted against you. There will be a lot of searches, arrests in the offices and your homes, and everywhere in the Republic of Belarus. These measures have very large political underlying reason, but we will not talk about it in this bulletin, as some information should be checked. We think that our duty is to help you not "to get into a mess" and to not get in the trap which is prepared to you. We shall describe you a part of small cunnings and we hope that it will help you in your life. For example, you are called on the phone and asked: «Have you bought computer equipment? There are problems with a guarantee». After the affirmative answer a man says that he is an employee of the financial investigations, and you are a witness on the business. There is some advice of our lawyers.

1. Never come in tax body, the militia or other body after the call, you should require a summons. In the summons they should specify whether you are a witness or not and what business you are summoned.

2. Any explanations, testimonies you should made only if the lawyer is present and it would be better if he represent us. According to article 62 of the Constitution of RB you have the right to use the legal help at any time (see comment 1). What does it mean? You have the right to use the legal help at any time and in a conversation with any official. Any citizen can be your representative. You should simply orally say to the official with whom you have the conversation that there is your representative with. In case of the counteraction from the part of the official you have the right to complain into the public prosecutor’s office.

3. Explanation. All criminal or administrative businesses begin with explanations.

You may explain yourself, it is your right, but not a duty. You can refuse to explain yourself at all, you can postpone explanations for any term. The compulsion to explain yourself (psychological influence, tortures, threats) is a serious offence. If you have solved to explain yourself, there some advice:

- Ask to postpone your explanations for couple of days, consult with our lawyers;

- Explain yourself at the presence of our representative;

- Do not forget that you can explain yourself orally (i.e. nothing to sign);

- a talker is an easy booty for the inspector.

According to article 27 of the Constitution of RB: nobody should be forced to explain yourself against himself, members of the family close relatives. The proofs received with the breach of the law have no legal force.

I.e. if the questions concern you and your relatives you can quote this article. Many things about which you are asked can not be remembered, you should not hesitate to tell about it the person with whom you have a conversation.

4. If you are a witness on the business, the inspector has the right to ask you questions concerning only this, and only those questions which concern the facts which you can confirm. For example, if you are the witness of the fight, you can not answer questions of the inspector concerning your economic activity and other not concerning this fight. And you should answer: «This question does not concern this business». As the witness you are obliged truthfully to tell what you remember on this business. If you do not remember, you should nothing think out, and answer: «I do not remember, am not sure, can be etc.». If you are summoned as the witness on Friday or Saturday, it is likely that your home and office will be searched. The reasons to search these places can be various. For example, they can search something that you, ostensibly, have got from somebody.

5. when you have explained yourself it is necessary to read your explanations, if you have remarks or claims to your interlocutor you can write about it in the explanations.

Initial explanations have in our courts primary importance. As a rule, in our courts there is not a response of the initial explanations. As our judges joke: «The frank recognitions facilitate soul, but extend term».

If you have questions, ask about them our active, and we shall try answer them

The note 1: article 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.

Everyone has the right to use the legal help to realise both protection of the rights and freedom, including the right to use at any moment help of the lawyers and other representatives in the court, in other state bodies, in the bodies of local management, at the enterprises, in organisations, in public associations and in the relations with the officials and citizens. In cases stipulated by the law, the legal help is rendered at the expense of the public funds.

The counteraction to the rendering of the legal help in Republic of Belarus is forbidden.

To A. Lukashenko

To the public prosecutor of the Republic of Belarus

To the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus

To the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus

I want to pay your attention to the complete impunity, frank impudence and cynicism, regular breaches of the law of RB «About militia» by the employees of militia. It is the very dangerous tendencies which lead to the detriment of trust of the authority of bodies of MIA at the citizens.

Let's begin from the fact that the depositions of the employees of militia in the court have primary importance on the indications of the citizens.

The employees of militia appear as the witnesses at on all practically administrative businesses. And they do not pay any attention that there are lot of witnesses, civil persons on a place of fulfilment of an offence. In other words the public, the citizens do not participate in an administrative process. It is very serious ground for the formation of the corrupted structures in MIA. The judicial process turns into farce. The employees of militia make the protocols themselves, and they are the witnesses on them!!?

The second nuance of our legislation is the drawing up of the administrative protocol. The protocol is made in the single copy. A citizen does not have a copy of the protocol. The militiamen can add there everything they want and as much as necessary.

A felonious group which consist from several militiamen can keep in awe the certain part of people without consequences for themselves. How can it happen?. There are a lot of dodges, I shall describe only one fresh episode.

The market "Dinamo" in Minsk. 11.08.2000. Two employees of militia in the clothe of a civil person approach to citizeness K. and say that she has broken the Decree of the President #1, i.e. the goods has been sold for currency. Nobody confused with those facts that citizeness K. denies the fact of sale of the goods for currency, there is no currency, there are no buyers of the goods and there are no witnesses "of the bargain", only there are militiamen.

The man, Igor Namochenko approaches, and tries to protect the woman. He asks the militiamen to call their name. But the militiamen take away the documents without the drawing up of the protocol of the withdrawal on a place and disappear.

This day the attempt to find the militiamen fails. The next day Igor Namochenko some times comes to the militia division with the request to find these militiamen. The militiamen has been found in some hours and they …. Make up the protocols on I. Namochenko for hooliganism and disobedience. And witnesses again are only militiamen. The civil persons assert the opposite. But their depositions are perceived by nobody. They put on handcuffs, forbade to call on the phone, arrested, thrashed and tried to put in the reception centre till Monday. There was no place in the reception centre, so he was let off. In the court the militiamen lie frankly, made inconsistent depositions, but the court these circumstances did not examined. The court accepted the part of the militiamen and depositions of the witnesses, civil persons were not taken into account.

If to assume that in the market "Dinamo" the felonious group on the extortion of bribes which consist from these militiamen (Kirill Darinskikh, Ruslan Suitko, Eduard Novik etc.) works, so they practically are impregnable. If someone does not want to pay bribes, he will be accused of hooliganism and disobedience, in the breach of the Decree #1, the documents will be taken away and a man will condemned. Such system works in our country. The truth can not be got by a man. Therefore he is compelled to pay bribes.

We have already offered some simple measures which could protect the lawful rights of the citizens and reduce the amount of cases on the extortion of bribes, but for two years our offers have remained without attention. Though the question can be solved by the simple order of the minister of MIA. So:

       it is necessary to oblige the employees of MIA to make the administrative protocols in duplicate (as in tax bodies);

       to oblige the employees of MIA to make the administrative protocols at a place of fulfilment of an offence especially in the markets. In reality a militiaman always takes the documents or things away with such words «you will come to division and we shall talk there». For what is it done? There it is easier to extort bribes and a there will be 5 witnesses, militiamen, who will confirm that "a pig-headed" businessman swore like a trooper and made bad things;

       to oblige the employees of MIA to write down the witnesses especially at the markets, from a number of sellers or passers - by. A militiaman can be a witness on the business only in exclusive cases (in deserted places);

       to oblige the employees of militia, in case of the breach of the Decree #1 to establish buyer’s identity;

       to forbid to the employees of militia to withdraw the documents and things without the drawing up of the protocol about the withdrawal on a place;

       to oblige the employees of militia to write down all cases of the use of special means in a special note-book. And in a case of the breach of this order to take measures of the disciplinary influence. In a case with I. Namochenko the use of handcuff is not fixed in the documents in any way;

       to oblige the employees of militia to carry out strictly the requirements of part 1 of article 242 of CAR of RB. The employees of militia sometimes arrest people for a day, two and even for three days without the sanction of the public prosecutor, justifying it by part 3 of the same article, that, from our point of view, is illegal;

       to oblige the employees of militia to carry out strictly the requirement of article 257 of CAR of RB. From our point of view the courts in a case of the breach of the requirements of article 257 should come to the decision of “not guilty”, being guided part 1 of article 7 of CAR of RB.

In a case with I. Namochenko the term mentioned in article 257 of CAR of RB was missed.

On the basis of above-stated, I ask:

1)to make the employees of militia answer according to the law for:

not due fulfilment of the official duties

the provocation of a disputed situation

the use of special means (handcuffs) without the appropriate necessity and writing down in a note-book

the rendering of counteraction to I. Namochenko to get the legal help (article 62 of the Constitution of RB)

the ban to I. Namochenko to call on the phone (he wanted to inform the relatives and lawyer that he is arrested)

the withdrawal of the documents from I. Namochenko without the drawing up of the protocol about the withdrawal on a place.

the threat. «You will not work more here» - said one of the militiamen.

2)to protect the businessmen, people, who pay taxes every months from every possible extortioner and provokers in the special uniform and without it.

3)to promote acceptance of the Order of the minister of MIA about which we have spoken above.

Yours faithfully

Valery Levonevsky

http://izbiratel.narod.ru/zav1.html

18. 08 2000

THE DECISION OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS AND THE STATE TAX COMMITTEE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

from 4. 08. 2000. About the use of some regulations of item 5 of the Decree of the President of the Republic Belarus from 12. 02. 1997 #2.

According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus from 12. 02 1997 #2 “About thge declaration of incomes and property of physical persons in the Republic of Belarus” (The code of decrees, edicts of the President and resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Belarus, 1997, #5, article 173; 1998, #12, article 311; The National register of the legal acts of the Republic of Belarus, 1999, #30, 1/244; 2000, #20, 1/1008) the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus and the State tax committee of the Republic of Belarus DECIDE:

1. It is not required to show an authorised person the certificate of the tax body about the representation of the declaration about the money resources spent for the fulfilment of the bargain at the registration or notarial certification of the bargain:

At the fulfilment of the property bargain which sum does not exceed 500 minimal wages according to the agreement of parts, irrespectively of the cost of the property according to the estimation of the appropriate body of management;

At the fulfilment of the property bargain when you present a thing which cost exceeds 500 minimal wages. The exceptions are the bargains when you present money;

At the notarial certification of the constituent documents in the case of formation of the regulation fund of the created juridical person or the increase of the regulation fund of the juridical person when the founder (participant) deposits property (except for money) as a share (contribution);

At the notarial certification of the constituent documents when the latest changes connected with the increase of a share (contribution) of the founders (participants) of the legal person at the expense of reassessment of a fixed capital are put in.

Humor

I frequently wake up during the night and choking tears bury myself into a pillow. I can not understand, how our Lord has allowed Gitler, Chikatilo and Svetlana Fedorovna, my mother -in – law, to appear...

New Russian writes from Italy familiar: "I send you photo, it’s me I am in the museum near to Apollon. A man in shorts is me".

New Russian on the newest, the most powerful car calls into a filling station and begins to refuel. He has been pouring petrol for two hours, but the tank is not filled.

He comes to the distribution and asks – what is this, I have been pouring petrol for two hours, and the tank is not filled? And he is answered: "You should switch off the engine!"