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Justice ministry asks Lukashenka to scrap punishment for acting on behalf of unregistered organizations

The justice ministry has appealed to Alyaksandr Lukashenka to abolish the Criminal Code`s Article 193-1 that penalizes acting on behalf of an unregistered organization, Minister Viktar Halavanaw said when meeting with civil society activists on September 8.

“Mr. Halavanaw confirmed that his ministry considers scrapping the article,” Alena Valynets, a coordinator of the “Stop 193-1” campaign who attended the meeting, told BelaPAN. “Moreover, the justice ministry drew up its opinion in writing and sent it to the president for consideration. The minister says that now everything depends on the head of state.”

But Mr. Halavanaw would not disclose any specific details on the ministry`s appeal, Ms. Valynets said.

The minister argued that the provision is in place in other countries as well, the activist said, noting that "civilized" countries, however, do not punish people for activities on behalf of unregistered organizations.

The meeting also focused on a draft law that would govern non-profit making organizations. Mr. Halavanaw said that plans to grant registration to non-governmental organizations upon application without authorizations had been pigeonholed.

“On the whole, we had the impression that the justice ministry tries hard to dodge its duties or it just doesn’t have possibilities to fix specific issues and has to refer to the president,” said Syarhey Matskevich, leader of the Assembly of Pro-democratic Non-governmental Organizations who also attended the meeting.