Aleksandr Kozulin: “They are not judges – they are real hangmen…”



On 13 July 2006 the court of the Moscow district of Minsk has sentenced Aleksandr Kozulin, the ex-candidate to presidents and professor to 5 years and 6 months of imprisonment.

Aleksandr Kozulin was detained on 25 March, on the Independence Day, during the mass protest campaign. On 30 March the leader of the Byelorussian Social Democratic Party (Gramada) was accused according to Articles of the Penal Code of Belarus. The attempt of Kozulin to enter the National press center on 17 February and to hold there a press-conference as the candidate to presidents was evaluated as hooliganism (part 2 of Article 339 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Belarus). The incrimination was also announced in view of the events of 2 March, when Aleksandr Kozulin destroyed the portrait of Lukashenko in the building of the Department of Internal Affairs of the October region. Concerning the events of 25 March, investigators also accused Kozulin for the organization of the mass disorders and announced the verdict referring to Part 1 of Article 342 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Belarus.

Court procedures against the ex-candidate to presidents of Belarus have become recently one of the notable and really shocking processes. Everything started on 6 July. The court hall could accommodate only 60 persons. By the way, the first rows have already been occupied by the bareheaded guys, who were not ashamed to lie that they were „relatives of the injured officials of militia“. TV journalists, many representatives of media and even diplomatic mission of the EU countries did not manage to get into the hall. Only when the ambassadors called the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, and when representatives of the Byelorussian foreign policy institutions talked (by mobile phones) with the special forces, the diplomats and 5 journalists did manage to get into the hall. The group of journalists from the Byelorussian TV, lead by Denis Bolshakov (who „became famous“ for his „truthful” TV stories about the tent city in March of the current year) was also allowed (thanks to the judge and, most probably to the Almighty) to shoot the court proceedings.

By the way, the music for the „unfair“ journalists did not play long. Before the lunch break the judge Aleksey Ribakov acted like Solomon – when someone in the hall started to laugh, all the journalists and diplomats were thrown out into the street. After having settled the matters with „the strangers“, the court addressed Kozulin and his defenders. All appeals of Aleksandr Kozulin – both, on the involvement of his daughter Olga in the process as a public defender and on the replacement of the custody and a possibility to shoot the court proceedings, were rejected. The judge did not allow to invite to court proceedings as witnesses neither Vladimir Naumov, the minister of interior, nor Nicolay Karpenkov, the head of special forces, Mikhail Titenkov, the deputy chairman of the Minsk city executive committee, Dmitrij Pavlichenko, the head of special squads, Jurij Podobed, the chief-commander of special forces, and, of course, Aleksandr Lukashenko himself...

In general, the above process reminded of the real farce and an attempt to humiliate Aleksandr Kozulin. All his appeals were rejected. He was even not allowed to buy water in the jail shop and he was only provided with some bread and herring, and during the court proceedings he was not allowed to drink water. The judge also prohibited to wear a tie and waist-belt and did not allow him to say practically a single word and answered nearly all the questions himself. „Officials of the special forces or „the victims“ gave their testimony.

A day before the announcement of the verdict, the world society had one more opportunity to see „a well stage-managed play“ from the court hall. When Aleksandr Kozulin asked to bring him out of the court hall in order „not to participate in this farce“, he was not allowed to do that. However, when it became clear that the verdict will be announced on Thursday, the ex-candidate to presidents was „expelled“ from the court hall „for the disrespect to the court“, thus, he actually was deprived of a possibility to defend himself.

On 13 July the state prosecutor Bortnik required to sentence Aleksandr Kozulin to 6 years of imprisonment and to satisfy the claim of the officials of law enforcement institutions comprising 15 million 100 thousand rubles. The prosecutor‘s side estimated that Kozulin deliberately acted as a hooligan in all three episodes: on 17 February – in the building of the National press-center; on 2 March – in the building of the department of internal affairs of the October region; and on 25 March, during the unauthorized demonstration in Minsk. Defenders of Aleksandr Kozulin required to give Aleksandr Kozulin the benefit of the doubt.

In the evening, when the judge had to announce the verdict, Aleksandr was brought to the court hall. Professor welcomed the judge Ribakov by saying „you are not judges – you are hangmen...“ and everyone around started applauding. Afterwards they were all kicked out from the hall. Only attorneys and representatives of the diplomatic missions were allowed to listen to the verdict. It was really very inhuman – 5 years and 6 months of imprisonment. According to words of Igor Rinkevich, the attorney of Aleksandr Kozulin, said to Euramost.org., „in order to defend the truth, we will apply to all legal institutions, if necessary, to the internal ones as well...“

Sergej Berezin