Recommendations to the government of the Republic of Belarus

• The competent authorities of the Republic of Belarus should fully fulfill taken international obligations in the sphere of torture prevention, in order to do it they should periodically review national legislation and law enforcement policy, adjust national legislation in accordance with the international standards. Besides, the Republic of Belarus should join international treaties in the field of preventing tortures, including:
- passing the statement in compliance with articles 21 and 22 of the Convention against tortures;
- ratification of the Optional Protocol of the Convention against tortures;
- The Republic of Belarus should provide full-value interaction with the Special Rapporteur on torture prevention and other inhuman and humiliating treatment.
• Introduce into the Criminal Code article regulating the punishment for using torture, complying with the definitions of the Convention; introduce obligations under the convention to Criminal-Procedural Code. Introduce the ban on torture and inhuman treatment to departmental instructions, regulating the conditions of keeping the detained or arrested in custody;
• Keep the official statistics of convictions and charges brought against representatives of the state (officials) for crimes that include elements of “torture” as meant in article 1 of the UN Convention against Torture;
• Till the complete ban of death penalty the Republic of Belarus shall exclude from criminal-executive legislation the norm, prohibiting giving out to the relatives the bodies for burial (part 5 of article 175 of the Criminal Executive Code);
• Create a specialized independent state agency not associated with bodies of criminal prosecution and investigation for fight against torture (formal and functional independence of those conducting investigations into alleged acts of torture should be provided for in the legislation);
• Penitentiary system shall be excluded from the competence of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Belarus and included into the competence of the Ministry of Justice or other specially created body under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.
• It is necessary to introduce obligatory rules for medical personnel visiting detention centres and prisons that a designated prosecutor should necessarily be informed when traces of physical violence are detected on inmates’ bodies and provide for special measures of responsibility for concealment of such information.
• To provide for the independence of medical institutions holding medical examination, expertise of arrested or prisoner who claimed about the use of torture against him by the representatives of law enforcement bodies. To guarantee the access of such persons to medical documents on their health from such institutions.
• Establish legislative standards for the order of use of physical force, special means, weapons and special equipment for ensuring public security, prison regime and termination of crimes, consistent with the principles of proportionality and adequacy of application. Determine the exact time limits (duration) for the use of physical force and special means. To immediately report about every case of physical force usage or (and) special means to supervising prosecutor for legal assessment and taking measures of prosecutor’s response in if it is necessary.
• To introduce to the Criminal Procedures Code of Belarus the norm setting the procedure of mandatory approval of arrest (restriction/deprivation of freedom) by a court decision within 48 hours with obligatory participation of the suspect, his representative and the way of appealing of the taken decision.
• Make legislative changes to ensure the immediate notification of family members of the detainee about his arrest;
• Develop and implement a comprehensive training and awareness-raising program on the inadmissibility of the use of torture to address the population, the military and law enforcement personnel. Introduce a human rights course into the compulsory part of professional and further training programs for the law enforcement officers, in particular the study of documents on torture and ill-treatment; for officers of law enforcement units that ensure public order during mass events and in other situations where the force is likely to be used — conduct systematic training on the proportionate use of force while arresting alleged offenders.
• Supplement the Civil Procedures Code of the Republic of Belarus, Procedural-Executive Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus with procedures that provide for consideration of complaints by prisoners and civil detainees kept in custody and those who have already been released, over improper conditions (including laying the burden of presenting evidence on correctional institutions);
• The Supreme Court of Belarus should create recommendations that define the criteria for assessing the damage inflicted on victims of torture. Legislatively establish a procedure for recovering compensation from the state regardless of the outcome of criminal investigation (in cases where offenders were not identified or convicted);
• Take measures aimed at identifying officers working during mass meetings and officials involved in torture and ill-treatment. In particular, introduce breast badges for all officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ensuring law and order; debar the concealment of license plates of vehicles and equipment used by the law enforcement, as well as the use of plainclothes operations by militia and KGB;
• Develop guidelines and procedures for prosecutors and judges on the application of measures ensuring the safety of persons who have made complaints about use of torture (in particular, if these persons are in custody, they shall be transferred to another place of detention), as well as their access to legal aid;
• Restore the institute of a public defender (representative) for criminal and civil cases;
• Provide for guarantees of lawyers’ access and public defenders (representatives) to persons under investigation and convicts (including sentenced to death penalty), with possibility of private conversations without the representatives of administration of the facility and other witnesses (including for the check of appeals against the violations of human rights).
• Supplement article 475 of the Criminal Procedures Code of Belarus with the list of conditions, under which an extradition request from another state over alleged crime may be entertained, as to ensuring non-use of torture and ill-treatment. Provide for obligation to officially inform person against whom measures are being undertaken to extradite him, about this fact and all circumstances that are essential for appealing such decision;
• Legislatively establish sanitary requirements and standards for premises in correctional facilities, where prisoners are kept, as well as for conditions of their transportation (equipment of prison vehicles and railway prison cars). Establish minimally acceptable sanitary requirements for premises. Establish disciplinary and criminal responsibility of officials over placing prisoners in facilities that do not meet these requirements;
• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of all premises in places of detention and correctional facilities and set the accommodation capacity limit, depending on the amount of floor space. Establish a permanent monitoring of the per-cell accommodation limit observance.
• Establish a procedure for checking by medical personnel of correctional facilities each day of week of: the quality of food; conditions of heating, ventilation, lighting at residential premises; suitability and cleanliness of bedding and of prisoners clothes. Reassign the medical staff of correctional institutions directly to the medical division of the Department of Corrections of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, consider the transfer of the medical service under the auspices of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus.
• Develop and adopt a special program for the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in places of detention, including measures to ensure effective health care and improve conditions of detention;
• Lift restrictions on HIV-infected prisoners contained in articles 90, 92 of the Criminal Executing Code of Belarus: travel without escort and outside of correctional facilities;
• Specify in the Criminal Executing Code of Belarus the concept of a disciplinary offence, as well as grades of the severity of offences (in accordance with rule 29 of the UN Standard Minimum Rules), exclude from article 98, section 6, of the Criminal Executing Code the definition of “malicious violation” of the regime —“ refusal to work or unauthorized suspension of work”;
• Set legislatively restrictions with regards to granting of amnesties to those convicted for the of “torture” as meant in article 1 of the UN Convention against Torture;
• Establish an efficient mechanism of public control in detention facilities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other closed institutions. To this end, in particular — introduce changes to the Regulation #1220, approved by the Council of Ministers on 15 September 2006, as to determine::
- procedure and criteria for approving the composition of supervisory commissions,
- power of commission members to consider complaints and communicate with prisoners confidentially;
- guarantees of non-interference into the public control activities;
- procedure to appeal non-inclusion into the commission or exclusion from its membership.

Develop and adopt the law on public control over the observance of human rights in correctional institutions.
• In order to realize the right for judicial protection to add to Civil Procedural Code of the Republic of Belarus special norms, setting the order and terms of appeals’ considering against the usage by correctional institutions’ administration the disciplinary measures against persons in custody.