Assembly
debate on 15 April 2008 (13th Sitting) (see Doc. 11464, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Mr Christos Pourgourides). Text adopted by the Assembly on
15 April 2008 (13th Sitting).
Thesaurus
1. The Parliamentary Assembly, referring
to its Resolution 1606
(2008) on abuse of the criminal system in Belarus, invites
the Committee of Ministers to:
1.1 urge
the Belarusian authorities to:
1.1.1 repeal
Law No. 71-3 of 15 December 2005 (so-called “anti-revolution law”),
and in particular Article 193-1 of the Criminal Code criminalising
activities of non-registered associations;
1.1.2 urgently introduce a moratorium on executions and abolish
the death penalty;
1.2 discuss ways and means of:
1.2.1 encouraging the Belarusian authorities to make structural
changes to the criminal justice system in order to bring it into
line with international human rights standards and principles of
the rule of law and, in particular, to guarantee the independence
of the judiciary, so as to ensure that detainees are promptly brought
before a competent judge, and that judicial control over detention is
introduced;
1.2.2 ensuring that the Belarusian authorities refrain in future
from using the criminal justice system for political purposes;
1.2.3 co-ordinating assistance to the victims of such abuses
and their families;
1.3 invite all member states of the Council of Europe to bring
their influence to bear on the Belarusian authorities with a view
to halting such abuses.
