Iryna Khalip
Encyclopedia
Iryna Khalip (born November 12, 1967) is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta
, known for her criticism of Belarusian President
Alexander Lukashenko
.
For her journalistic activities she has been regularly harassed, detained, and beaten by the Belarusian KGB and authorities. In May 2011, she was given a two-year suspended prison sentence for her role in protests following the 2010 Belarus election.
TIME selected her for the 2005 special issue "European Heroes", category "Brave Hearts". In 2009 she was awarded the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation
.
She is married to former Belarus presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov
, an opposition activist and recipient of the 2005 Bruno Kreisky Award
.
, a city in Belorussian SSR. Her father is an arts and theater critic. She graduated from Belarus State University with a focus in journalism studies in 1989.
in 1994, at age 26. She has stated "I was looking for something not very difficult...something easy and interesting. I was only half right, because journalism is really interesting, but not easy."
Belarus
, which had gained independence from the USSR after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, elected Alexander Lukashenko
as president in 1994. He quickly became known for restricting freedom of speech
and freedom of the press
. Khalip has stated "Dictatorships don’t like journalists - they either destroy them or buy them out." That year, Lukashenko fired the editor of Soviet Belarusia after the employees proposed privatizing the paper, and also demanded the paper become his "mouthpiece." Khalip quit her job and became a correspondent with other papers.
In 1997, Khalip was reporting at a rally that opposed Belarus unifying with Russia
. She was clubbed by riot police and dragged by her hair, and her father, who was with her at the rally, was beaten into unconsciousness.
That year, police came to Khalip's home and detained her for an entire day. They interrogated and allegedly threatened her, and while she was detained, they searched her apartment, confiscated travel documents, and took her work computer.
demonstration protesting an official ban on a public march. The banned march was intended to be part of the opposition festivities commemorating the 1918 founding of the Belarusian National Republic
. She was forced into a police vehicle and detained at an Interior Ministry facility in Minsk
, along with 34 other journalists. She was released later that day.
(New Gazette), a newspaper based in Moscow
. The paper is famous for being the very last independent newspaper in Russia. There are no independent newspapers in Belarus, making it one of the few outlets for independent Belarusian journalists.
The paper is known for being outspoken about the corruption of governments in the former Soviet Republics, and its journalists have faced brutal intimidation and persecution. Anna Politkovskaya
, one of their well-known reporters and a winner of the 2002 Courage in Journalism Award, was shot to death outside her flat in 2006. Three years before that, the Gazeta investigative journalist Yuri Shchekochikhin
died in highly suspicious circumstances; many factions believe he was poisoned by the KGB. Khalip, however, has stated she won't stop reporting on civil and human rights abuses, because “[It would] betray my friends. [It would] betray the memory of their husbands. There is only one way to go ahead.”
lawyer who spent 18 months in a Belarusian jail before being released through the intervention of the local American Embassy. Her research revealed a circle of relationships between the Belarusian KGB, Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky, Berezovksy's attorney Peter Goldsmith, the heirs to Georgian
billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili
, and the US Embassy in Belarus.
Khalip sent a text of her journalistic investigation to the Novaya Gazeta editorial office on Saturday, November 22, 2009. That day at 17:43 she received an email from "Drug Drug" titled "Greetings from Boris." It read "Irka if you won’t remove the article you will meet with [murdered reporter] Anna Politkovskaya
, or tomorrow you will meet with intoxicated niggers. With love, BA (sic)." Khalip immediately called London
and spoke to Berezovsky, who assured her he had not sent the email and theorized it was the "special services."
The next Monday and Tuesday she gathered more information for the article at the behest of her editor-in-chief. That Tuesday, at 8:53 p.m., she received a call to her mobile phone from a pay phone. A unknown man stated “You have been warned, bitch, haven’t you? If the article is published, you must not leave your house any more.”
On the evening of Thursday, November 26, she received a telegram from Moscow stating “HERO OF EUROPE THE MATTER DOES NOT CONCERN PAL PALYCH BUT VLADIMIROVICH DRINK HENNESSEY AND DRINK HEALTH OF YOUR SON IF YOU DO NOT CARE FOR YOUR HEALTH." The telegram made obvious references to her private phone conversations the last few days. Days earlier, she had discussed Russian official Pavel Pavlovich Borodin
(Pal Palych) with her editors at Novаya Gazeta, informing them that Emmanuel Zeltser was the New York
attorney for Borodin. She had also requested her husband, future Presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov
, pick up Hennessy cognac at a shop. Also, the couple's year-old son had been ill, and she had made several phone calls concerning the issue.
When the Charter 97
website later asked about the source of the threats, Khalip stated “Only those who have a possibility to intercept emails of others could make threats to me. In our country it’s a prerogative of secret services...KGB servicemen are used to stay nameless and faceless in the crowd. They do not like when their illegal and sometimes criminal actions become known…”
Despite the explicit death threats, Khalip and her editors decided to publish the story in the December 9 edition of Novaya Gazeta. The harassment was addressed in the article.
that Khalip and her husband Andrei Sannikov
had been summoned to the Partyzanski District
milita department in Minsk
for questioning. Chief interrogating officer Alyaksandr Paznyak oversaw the interrogations, questioning them individually in an effort to uncover if they were connected to to criminal case involving "defamation" of Ivan Korzh, a former member of the KGB
in the Gomel region. According to Khalip, they were asked "if we were coordinators of the website charter97.org, if we conducted journalistic investigation of the 'hunters’ case,' if I published anything relating to this issue, if we met with his family, if we published anything on the website 'Belorusski Partizan.' Our answers to all questions were decisive “no”, which is absolutely true.”
declared his intention to take part in the Belarus presidential election of 2010 as a candidate. Along with Uladzimir Niaklajeu
and Jarasłaŭ Ramančuk, he was considered one of the main opposition candidates. With Khalip's support, he officially registered on November 18, 2010. After the presidential elections took place on December 19, 2010, incumbent Aleksandr Lukashenko was proclaimed the winner with roughly 80% of the popular vote.
, deeming the election results fraudulent. Many oppositional political candidates were present. The police broke up the rally, beating and injuring people and arresting more than 600. Khalip and her husband Andrei Sannikov were among those beaten by police during the rally, and according to eye-witnesses, were singled out from the crowd. Later, on the way to the hospital to treat Sannikov's broken legs, their car was intercepted while Khalip was giving a telephone interview to the Moscow radio station Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow). Khalip screamed on air that they were being forcibly removed from their car, arrested, and beaten.
On March 22, while accusing her of lying about being beaten, Lukashenko admitted that Khalip's phone had been bugged and was being listened to by the government.
, saying they would make a decision by the end of the month. Khalip's mother stated “This is an effort to put pressure on Irina. They are capable of squeezing her, and this of course is the most sensitive place.”
After the announcement, activists rallied for Khalip and her son outside the Belarus Embassy
in Moscow
, holding signs demanding their reunion. Boris Nemtsov
was present, holding a sign of Khalip with the others.
By January 11, Khalip's mother reported that the authorities found her fit enough to retain custody of the boy, though he was required to undergo a medical check as well.
. Her husband remained incarcerated. Though reunited with her son, she was expressly forbidden from communicating with the outside world or media in any way, and was not allowed to use a phone or a computer, or to go near windows. She was not allowed to receive any correspondence, though she was allowed to talk with family members. Two KGB
guards were permanently stationed in her apartment to ensure compliance; if attempted communication, she would be sent back to prison.
On February 4, it was reported that Khalip's lawyer Tamara Harayeva had withdrawn from her defense team, giving no explanation. Three days later, Khalip's lawyer Uladzimer Toustsik abruptly withdrew from the case as well. A family member in touch with Khalip said that the authorities had threatened to revoke their licenses to practice law if they continued to represent her. It was also reported that authorities were trying to force her to accept a state-appointed lawyer. On February 18, it was revealed that both of Khalip's former lawyers had been stripped of their licenses to practice law. The Belarusian Justice Ministry stated they had been disbarred for their "refusal to represent Khalip".
As of February 20, 46 people had been charged in the "riot" case, among them four of the nine presidential candidates. Further protests took place after activist Vasuk Parfyankow was sentenced to four years in a high-security prison. Sixteen journalists and activists including Khalip still faced prosecution, all facing the possibility of 15 years in prison if their cases proceed to trial.
April appeal
On April 15, Minsk city Court heard an appeal from Andrei Sannikov's lawyer Pavel Sapelka against the extent of his detention term, but was denied. According to Radio Svaboda (Radio Freedom), Sannikov's health after his last meeting with his lawyers was "satisfactory". He is to be tried on April 27.
On April 18, the Minsk City Court officially sent a case against Khalip to the court of the Zavadski district of Minsk, stating "The case has just been received by the court. A date and a judge have not been appointed." Iryna Khalip, Syargei Martseleu and Pavel Sevyarynets are to be charged under part 1 of article 342 of the Criminal Code of Belarus for “taking part or organizing the actions that violate public order.” That day Minsk City Court also extended Khalip's house arrest for another month.
Amnesty International
consider Khalip and her husband to be prisoners of conscience
. The Committee to Protect Journalists
has also called for Belarusian authorities to immediately lift all restrictions on Khalip's movement and to drop the "fabricated" charges against her.
On 16 May, Khalip was convicted of "organizing and preparing activities severely disruptive of public order" and given a suspended sentence of two years' imprisonment.
In October 2009, Khalip, then 41, was awarded the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation
.
Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta is a Russian newspaper well known in the country for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs....
, known for her criticism of Belarusian President
President of Belarus
The office of President of Belarus is the head of state of Belarus. The office was created in 1994 with the passing of the Constitution of Belarus by the Supreme Soviet. This replaced the office of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet as the head of state...
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
.
For her journalistic activities she has been regularly harassed, detained, and beaten by the Belarusian KGB and authorities. In May 2011, she was given a two-year suspended prison sentence for her role in protests following the 2010 Belarus election.
TIME selected her for the 2005 special issue "European Heroes", category "Brave Hearts". In 2009 she was awarded the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation
International Women's Media Foundation
The International Women’s Media Foundation , located in Washington, DC, is a network of thousands of left-wing women journalists working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created groundbreaking programs to help women in the media develop practical solutions...
.
She is married to former Belarus presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Olegovich Sannikov is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as the Belarusian diplomat to Switzerland. From 1995 to 1996, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of...
, an opposition activist and recipient of the 2005 Bruno Kreisky Award
Bruno Kreisky Award
The Bruno Kreisky Award is a biennial award created in October 1976 on the occasion of the 65th birthday of Bruno Kreisky. The laureates are rewarded for their achievements in the field of human rights...
.
Early life, education
Iryna Khalip was born on November 12, 1967 in MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, a city in Belorussian SSR. Her father is an arts and theater critic. She graduated from Belarus State University with a focus in journalism studies in 1989.
Early journalism career
Afterward graduation Khalip got a job at the government paper Sovetskaya Belorussiya. She decided she wanted to become a full-time journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
in 1994, at age 26. She has stated "I was looking for something not very difficult...something easy and interesting. I was only half right, because journalism is really interesting, but not easy."
Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, which had gained independence from the USSR after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, elected Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
as president in 1994. He quickly became known for restricting freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
and freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
. Khalip has stated "Dictatorships don’t like journalists - they either destroy them or buy them out." That year, Lukashenko fired the editor of Soviet Belarusia after the employees proposed privatizing the paper, and also demanded the paper become his "mouthpiece." Khalip quit her job and became a correspondent with other papers.
In 1997, Khalip was reporting at a rally that opposed Belarus unifying with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. She was clubbed by riot police and dragged by her hair, and her father, who was with her at the rally, was beaten into unconsciousness.
Imya intimidation attempt
Khalip later went to work for the independent newspaper Imya ("Name"). In 1999, the Belarusian government issued a warning to Imya over an article Khalip had written about the Central Electoral Committee's activities. According to the chair of the Belarusian Press Committee, the article and the newspaper's coverage of the upcoming presidential elections amounted to "incitement to overthrow the state," and a second warning would lead to the paper's closure.That year, police came to Khalip's home and detained her for an entire day. They interrogated and allegedly threatened her, and while she was detained, they searched her apartment, confiscated travel documents, and took her work computer.
2000 detainment
In March 2000, Khalip was reporting on a MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
demonstration protesting an official ban on a public march. The banned march was intended to be part of the opposition festivities commemorating the 1918 founding of the Belarusian National Republic
Belarusian National Republic
The Belarusian People's Republic was a self-declared independent Belarusian state, which declared independence in 1918. It is also called the Belarusian Democratic Republic or the Belarusian National Republic, in order to distinguish it from Communist People's Republics...
. She was forced into a police vehicle and detained at an Interior Ministry facility in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, along with 34 other journalists. She was released later that day.
Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta
In 2003, President Lukashenko altered the Belarusian criminal code to make it illegal for journalists to write anything negative about the president. At that point, Khalip had written multiple articles on corruption in the prosecutor's office for Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta (Belarusian Business Newspaper). The newspaper was accordingly forced to suspend its activities for "insulting the honor and dignity of the president." In 2006, the newspaper was forced to close permanently.Novaya Gazeta
After the closure of the Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta Khalip became a regular editor and reporter for the Minsk bureau of Novaya GazetaNovaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta is a Russian newspaper well known in the country for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs....
(New Gazette), a newspaper based in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. The paper is famous for being the very last independent newspaper in Russia. There are no independent newspapers in Belarus, making it one of the few outlets for independent Belarusian journalists.
The paper is known for being outspoken about the corruption of governments in the former Soviet Republics, and its journalists have faced brutal intimidation and persecution. Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, author, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
, one of their well-known reporters and a winner of the 2002 Courage in Journalism Award, was shot to death outside her flat in 2006. Three years before that, the Gazeta investigative journalist Yuri Shchekochikhin
Yuri Shchekochikhin
Yuri Petrovich Shchekochikhin was a Russian investigative journalist, writer, and liberal lawmaker of Russian parliament. Shchekochikhin made his name writing about and campaigning against the influence of organized crime and corruption...
died in highly suspicious circumstances; many factions believe he was poisoned by the KGB. Khalip, however, has stated she won't stop reporting on civil and human rights abuses, because “[It would] betray my friends. [It would] betray the memory of their husbands. There is only one way to go ahead.”
Reporting on Emmanuel Zeltser
In late 2009 Khalip began a complicated investigation about Emmanuel Zeltser, an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer who spent 18 months in a Belarusian jail before being released through the intervention of the local American Embassy. Her research revealed a circle of relationships between the Belarusian KGB, Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky, Berezovksy's attorney Peter Goldsmith, the heirs to Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili
Badri Patarkatsishvili
Arkady "Badri" Patarkatsishvili was a wealthy Georgian businessman, who was also extensively involved in politics. He contested the 2008 Georgian presidential election and came third with 7.1% of the votes...
, and the US Embassy in Belarus.
Khalip sent a text of her journalistic investigation to the Novaya Gazeta editorial office on Saturday, November 22, 2009. That day at 17:43 she received an email from "Drug Drug" titled "Greetings from Boris." It read "Irka if you won’t remove the article you will meet with [murdered reporter] Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, author, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
, or tomorrow you will meet with intoxicated niggers. With love, BA (sic)." Khalip immediately called London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and spoke to Berezovsky, who assured her he had not sent the email and theorized it was the "special services."
The next Monday and Tuesday she gathered more information for the article at the behest of her editor-in-chief. That Tuesday, at 8:53 p.m., she received a call to her mobile phone from a pay phone. A unknown man stated “You have been warned, bitch, haven’t you? If the article is published, you must not leave your house any more.”
On the evening of Thursday, November 26, she received a telegram from Moscow stating “HERO OF EUROPE THE MATTER DOES NOT CONCERN PAL PALYCH BUT VLADIMIROVICH DRINK HENNESSEY AND DRINK HEALTH OF YOUR SON IF YOU DO NOT CARE FOR YOUR HEALTH." The telegram made obvious references to her private phone conversations the last few days. Days earlier, she had discussed Russian official Pavel Pavlovich Borodin
Pavel Borodin
Pavel Pavlovich Borodin is a Russian official and politician.Born in the town of Shakhunya, near the city of Nizhny in the Nizhny Novgorod Region....
(Pal Palych) with her editors at Novаya Gazeta, informing them that Emmanuel Zeltser was the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
attorney for Borodin. She had also requested her husband, future Presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Olegovich Sannikov is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as the Belarusian diplomat to Switzerland. From 1995 to 1996, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of...
, pick up Hennessy cognac at a shop. Also, the couple's year-old son had been ill, and she had made several phone calls concerning the issue.
When the Charter 97
Charter 97
Charter 97 is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a human rights group taking its inspiration from the declaration.The document - whose title deliberately echoes the Czechoslovak human rights declaration Charter 77 twenty years earlier - was created on the anniversary of a referendum...
website later asked about the source of the threats, Khalip stated “Only those who have a possibility to intercept emails of others could make threats to me. In our country it’s a prerogative of secret services...KGB servicemen are used to stay nameless and faceless in the crowd. They do not like when their illegal and sometimes criminal actions become known…”
Despite the explicit death threats, Khalip and her editors decided to publish the story in the December 9 edition of Novaya Gazeta. The harassment was addressed in the article.
'Hunter's Case' interrogation
On March 3, 2010, it was reported by Charter97.orgCharter 97
Charter 97 is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a human rights group taking its inspiration from the declaration.The document - whose title deliberately echoes the Czechoslovak human rights declaration Charter 77 twenty years earlier - was created on the anniversary of a referendum...
that Khalip and her husband Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Olegovich Sannikov is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as the Belarusian diplomat to Switzerland. From 1995 to 1996, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of...
had been summoned to the Partyzanski District
Partyzanski District
Partyzanski District is an adiministrative subdivision of the city of Minsk, Belarus. It was named after the Soviet partisans and is the lesser populated raion of the city.-Geography:...
milita department in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
for questioning. Chief interrogating officer Alyaksandr Paznyak oversaw the interrogations, questioning them individually in an effort to uncover if they were connected to to criminal case involving "defamation" of Ivan Korzh, a former member of the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
in the Gomel region. According to Khalip, they were asked "if we were coordinators of the website charter97.org, if we conducted journalistic investigation of the 'hunters’ case,' if I published anything relating to this issue, if we met with his family, if we published anything on the website 'Belorusski Partizan.' Our answers to all questions were decisive “no”, which is absolutely true.”
2010 presidential elections
In March 2010, Khalip's husband Andrei SannikovAndrei Sannikov
Andrei Olegovich Sannikov is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as the Belarusian diplomat to Switzerland. From 1995 to 1996, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of...
declared his intention to take part in the Belarus presidential election of 2010 as a candidate. Along with Uladzimir Niaklajeu
Uladzimir Niaklajeu
Vladimir Niaklajeu ' born on July 11, 1946 in Smarhon) is a Belarusian poet and writer, and a head of the public campaign Tell the Truth!...
and Jarasłaŭ Ramančuk, he was considered one of the main opposition candidates. With Khalip's support, he officially registered on November 18, 2010. After the presidential elections took place on December 19, 2010, incumbent Aleksandr Lukashenko was proclaimed the winner with roughly 80% of the popular vote.
December 19 demonstration
On the night of December 19, thousands of protesters peacefully filled a large square in central MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, deeming the election results fraudulent. Many oppositional political candidates were present. The police broke up the rally, beating and injuring people and arresting more than 600. Khalip and her husband Andrei Sannikov were among those beaten by police during the rally, and according to eye-witnesses, were singled out from the crowd. Later, on the way to the hospital to treat Sannikov's broken legs, their car was intercepted while Khalip was giving a telephone interview to the Moscow radio station Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow). Khalip screamed on air that they were being forcibly removed from their car, arrested, and beaten.
On March 22, while accusing her of lying about being beaten, Lukashenko admitted that Khalip's phone had been bugged and was being listened to by the government.
Detainment
Both Khalip and Sannikov were detained in a KGB facility in Minsk. Hours after the arrest, Khalip borrowed a mobile phone from another detainee and called her mother, asking her to take care of her young son. According to Sannikov's lawyer Pavel Sapelko, he was denied proper medical treatment for his injuries. Sapelko also reported that the couple was officially charged with the crimes of "organizing an unsanctioned gathering and participating in mass disorder" on December 29, after 10 days detention with no charges. If convicted, the result could be up to 15 years in prison.Custody threats
On December 25, Telegraph reported that authorities were threatening to remove Khalip's young son, at the time three years old, from her mother's custody. The child had been placed in the custody of Khalip's 74-year-old mother after his parents' incarceration. The child at the time believed his parents were on an extended business trip. Child Welfare Services required Khalip's mother to undergo a series of medical and psychological tests to assess if she would be able to retain custody, including testing for H.I.V. and syphilisSyphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
, saying they would make a decision by the end of the month. Khalip's mother stated “This is an effort to put pressure on Irina. They are capable of squeezing her, and this of course is the most sensitive place.”
After the announcement, activists rallied for Khalip and her son outside the Belarus Embassy
Embassy of Belarus in Moscow
The Embassy of Belarus in Moscow is the chief diplomatic mission of Belarus in the Russian Federation. It is located at 17 Maroseika Street in the Basmanny District of Moscow.- External links :...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, holding signs demanding their reunion. Boris Nemtsov
Boris Nemtsov
Boris Efimovich Nemtsov is a Russian politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 1997 to 1998. He was a co-founder of the Russian political party Union of Right Forces and is an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin.-Early life:...
was present, holding a sign of Khalip with the others.
By January 11, Khalip's mother reported that the authorities found her fit enough to retain custody of the boy, though he was required to undergo a medical check as well.
House arrest
After the protests, Khalip was released from the detention center on January 30, and placed under stringent house arrestHouse arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. Her husband remained incarcerated. Though reunited with her son, she was expressly forbidden from communicating with the outside world or media in any way, and was not allowed to use a phone or a computer, or to go near windows. She was not allowed to receive any correspondence, though she was allowed to talk with family members. Two KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
guards were permanently stationed in her apartment to ensure compliance; if attempted communication, she would be sent back to prison.
Legal prosecution
On February 3, it was announced that her husband's press secretary, journalist Aleksandr Otroschenkov, had been sentenced to a four-year prison term for participating in the protest rally. The judgement was handed down by Judge Tatiana Cherkas under article 293 of the Criminal code, despite the fact that Otroschenkov had been involved in the protest solely as a professional journalist.On February 4, it was reported that Khalip's lawyer Tamara Harayeva had withdrawn from her defense team, giving no explanation. Three days later, Khalip's lawyer Uladzimer Toustsik abruptly withdrew from the case as well. A family member in touch with Khalip said that the authorities had threatened to revoke their licenses to practice law if they continued to represent her. It was also reported that authorities were trying to force her to accept a state-appointed lawyer. On February 18, it was revealed that both of Khalip's former lawyers had been stripped of their licenses to practice law. The Belarusian Justice Ministry stated they had been disbarred for their "refusal to represent Khalip".
As of February 20, 46 people had been charged in the "riot" case, among them four of the nine presidential candidates. Further protests took place after activist Vasuk Parfyankow was sentenced to four years in a high-security prison. Sixteen journalists and activists including Khalip still faced prosecution, all facing the possibility of 15 years in prison if their cases proceed to trial.
April appeal
On April 15, Minsk city Court heard an appeal from Andrei Sannikov's lawyer Pavel Sapelka against the extent of his detention term, but was denied. According to Radio Svaboda (Radio Freedom), Sannikov's health after his last meeting with his lawyers was "satisfactory". He is to be tried on April 27.
On April 18, the Minsk City Court officially sent a case against Khalip to the court of the Zavadski district of Minsk, stating "The case has just been received by the court. A date and a judge have not been appointed." Iryna Khalip, Syargei Martseleu and Pavel Sevyarynets are to be charged under part 1 of article 342 of the Criminal Code of Belarus for “taking part or organizing the actions that violate public order.” That day Minsk City Court also extended Khalip's house arrest for another month.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
consider Khalip and her husband to be prisoners of conscience
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...
. The Committee to Protect Journalists
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...
has also called for Belarusian authorities to immediately lift all restrictions on Khalip's movement and to drop the "fabricated" charges against her.
On 16 May, Khalip was convicted of "organizing and preparing activities severely disruptive of public order" and given a suspended sentence of two years' imprisonment.
Awards and recognition
TIME selected her for the 2005 special issue "European Heroes", category "Brave Hearts".In October 2009, Khalip, then 41, was awarded the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation
International Women's Media Foundation
The International Women’s Media Foundation , located in Washington, DC, is a network of thousands of left-wing women journalists working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created groundbreaking programs to help women in the media develop practical solutions...
.
See also
- 2010 Belarus election protest crackdown
Further reading
- Charter97: How the Beating of Andrei Sannikov (and Khalip) Took Place. Eyewitnesses' Account (February 2, 2011)
- Novaya Gazeta: He Knows Too Much (Iryna Khalip, February 7, 2008) - Coverage of Emmanuel Seltzer case
- Archive of Iryna Khalip's Articles for Novoya Gazeta
External links
- Novoya Gazeta
- Radio Svaboda (Radio Freedom)