'Don't kill my son. He is not guilty of bombing the metro'

Dmitry Konovalov
and Vladislav Kovalyov

The mother of a man condemned to death tells Shaun Walker in Minsk of her desperate fight for a reprieve

There is only one person who can stop the execution of Lyubov Kovalyova's 25-year-old son, Vladislav. Unfortunately for her, it is Alexander Lukashenko, the ruthless dictator who has ruled Belarus since 1994. He is not known for his compassion.

Ms Kovalyova spoke to The Independent in Minsk yesterday, before delivering a letter to Mr Lukashenko begging him to pardon her son, who was sentenced to death on Wednesday for alleged involvement in an April bomb attack on the Minsk metro system that killed 15 people. The court ruled he knew that his friend Dmitry Konovalov, also 25, was planning the attack and helped him to prepare, instead of reporting him to the authorities.

"The court case was purely symbolic, everything had already been decided," said Ms Kovalyova, wiping away tears as she perched on a chair in a Minsk apartment belonging to friends. "I can state with absolute certainly that my boy is innocent."

Konovalov was also given the death penalty, in a case so flawed there were howls of sarcastic laughter from the public gallery as the judge read his verdict. Belarus is the only country in Europe to retain the death penalty, and both men will be executed with a single bullet to the back of the head, unless Mr Lukashenko intervenes to grant clemency. After he publicly stated that the two should receive "the strictest punishment" before the court had even delivered a verdict, hopes that he will show compassion appear forlorn, but rights activists are praying that international pressure may help.

Ms Kovalyova was wearing a bright purple jumper and stripy green socks yesterday, perhaps to offset the sadness of her mood. But the worry lines on her tired face and the sorrow in her eyes were testament to the amount of distress that this 46-year-old woman has suffered in recent weeks, culminating in Wednesday's sentence. She says the judge "twisted" the evidence in the case beyond recognition, an observation backed up by independent observers. "There are so many things I would like to say to that judge," says Ms Kovalyova, with a deep sigh. "But I can't. My son is a hostage." The entire case was based on confessions given during the investigation, but Konovalov recanted in court and said he was pressured to sign. Konovalov remained silent during the entire three-month trial, simply staring blankly into the middle distance. His father and brother were also detained, and were accompanied to court by a security detail. They declined to offer any evidence. "They were put under huge pressure not to come out in support of their own son," says Ms Kovalyova. She says the Konovalovs' house, next to her own, is always under surveillance, and that the family is too scared to talk to her.

Ms Kovalyova is a single mother from Vitebsk, a small town in eastern Belarus. Vladislav lived at home until 2010, when he moved to Minsk to make a career as an electrician. "He was a quiet boy, never got into trouble, never had a bad word to say about anyone," she recalls. He was arrested immediately after the bomb blast together with Konovalov, who rights activists believe may have been tortured into confessing.

Ms Kovalyova says that Vladislav's state-appointed lawyer refused to meet with her, and when she approached other lawyers, they were too scared to take on the case. Eventually she found a young lawyer on the internet who was brave enough to argue for the defence, but he was given hardly any access to Vladislav. Ms Kovalyova has been allowed just one meeting with her son since April. She has been able to see him only from afar in the courtroom, when he was padlocked into a metal cage.

At midday yesterday, Ms Kovalyova, her 23-year-old daughter Tatyana, and a small group of well-wishers and journalists set off to deliver her petition to the Presidential Administration. But even handing over the letter was not possible without an appearance from the omnipresent KGB, the feared security service which has kept its Soviet-era initials. Half a dozen black-clad plain-clothed agents materialised and said it was illegal to conduct interviews in a public place. A girl in knee-high shiny white boots walked among those present and pointed a hand-held video camera in their faces. "She's my employee," said one of the KGB men. "We'll have a record of everyone who was here."

It was a chilling reminder that in Belarus, anyone who stands up for a victim can become a victim themselves, as evidenced by the recent jailing on spurious tax-evasion charges of a leading rights activist, who had in turn campaigned for the release of opposition politicians still held in jail.

In the end, Ms Kovalyova delivered the letter and now begins a nerve-racking wait to see if Mr Lukashenko will spare her son's life. "I appeal to you... to show clemency to my only son," reads her appeal. "I beg you to save my son. You are the only person who can do so."

Source: Belfast Telegraph, December 2, 2011

Two Men In Belarus At Risk Of Execution

The Belarusian authorities must not execute Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou, who were sentenced to death on 30 November, following a trial that has failed to meet international fair trial standards.

Dzmitry Kanavalau has been found guilty of committing terrorist attacks and producing explosives, in connection with a series of bomb attacks in Belarus, most recently in Minsk on 11 April. Uladzslau Kavalyou was found guilty of assisting him and failing to inform the authorities.

The two men's sentences were passed by the Supreme Court of Belarus. The only possibility for further appeal is for the families of the two men to ask the President for clemency, within ten days of the sentence being passed. If the clemency appeals are rejected, Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou may be executed just minutes after the President's decision is confirmed.

Amnesty International has serious concerns over the fairness of the trial. Uladzslau Kavalyou retracted his confession during the trial, claiming it was obtained under pressure. He said that during his interrogation, the investigator threatened to shoot him. He also claimed that he could hear Dzmitry Kanavalau screaming in another room. Uladzslau Kavalyou's mother has said that both men were beaten during interrogation.

The swiftness of Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou's arrest has also led to skepticism about the investigation. They were detained the day after the explosion, on 12 April. Violating their right to the presumption of innocence, the President declared that two men had confessed to the attack before they were even interrogated.

There is no forensic evidence linking either Dzmitry Kanavalau or Uladzslau Kavalyou to the explosion and no traces of explosives were found on either of them. Experts concluded that it would not have been possible for them to prepare the explosives in the basement in which they are accused of having done so.

Official statements claimed they were detained on the basis of security camera footage, which the prosecution relied on heavily during the trial. However, the security footage was only seized days after their detention and the defense lawyer claimed it had been clearly tampered with.

Please write immediately in Russian, Belarusian or your own language:

- Calling on President Lukashenka to grant clemency to Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou;

- Expressing your serious concerns about the allegations that torture and other ill-treatment were used to obtain confessions from Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou and calling on the Belarusian authorities to open an investigation into allegations that Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou were tortured or ill-treated;

- Calling for Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou to be re-tried in proceedings which comply with international fair trial standards, especially with regard to his right to effective legal counsel;

- Calling on President Lukashenka to establish an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty, in line with UN General Assembly resolution 63/168, adopted on 18 December 2008.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 13 JANUARY 2012 TO:

President

Alyaksandr Lukashenka

ul. Karla Marxa 38

220016 Minsk

BELARUS

Fax: 011 375 17 226 06 10 or 011 375 17 222 38 72

Email: contact@president.gov.by

Salutation: Dear President

General Prosecutor

Alyaksandr Koniuk

Internatsionalnaya str. 22

220050 Minsk

BELARUS

Fax: 011 375 17 226 42 52

Email: info@prokuratura.gov.by

Salutation: Dear General Prosecutor

There is a possibility that the fax numbers could sporadically be blocked. If so, please use email addresses instead.

Also send copies to:

Ambassador Oleg Kravchenko

Embassy of the Republic of Belarus

1619 New Hampshire Ave NW

Washington DC 20009

Fax: 1 202 986 1805

Email: usa@belarusembassy.org -OR- politics@belarusembassy.org

Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The case of Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou has been very high profile within Belarus, following the shock that filled the country after the 11 April explosion in which 15 people died and hundreds were injured.

There has been increasing public criticism about the swiftness and nature of the investigation and trial, as both Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou were detained within hours of the incident and the trial has failed meet international fair trial standards on a number of levels.

In a survey carried out in September by the Lithuanian Independent Institute of socio-political and economic research, only 21.2 per cent of Belarusians believed that the April explosion in Minsk was carried out by "a lone terrorist and his accomplice", 32.4 per cent believed that the crime was carried out under orders and 36.7 per cent were sure that "the crime was committed by other people."

In an unprecedented show of public skepticism in Belarus, a petition against the anticipated execution Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou was started in the country. It has already been signed by over 50,000 people.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Belarus remains the only country in Europe and the former Soviet Union which still carries out executions. The use of the death penalty is compounded by a flawed justice system and the secrecy surrounding its application which means that prisoners and family members are not informed in advance and may not be informed until months after the execution has taken place.

Belarus is the last country in Europe and the former Soviet Union which still carries out executions. Amnesty International condemns the Belarusian authorities' continued use of the death penalty. Despite public statements regarding its intention to move towards abolition, the Belarusian government continues to issue death sentences and execute prisoners. Two men were executed in 2010 and at least one man in 2011.

In Belarus, condemned prisoners are given no warning that they are about to be executed, and they are usually executed within minutes of being told that their appeal for clemency has been rejected. They are first taken to a room where, in the presence of the Director of the detention facility, the Prosecutor and one other Ministry of Interior employee, they are told that their appeal for clemency has been turned down and that the sentence will be carried out. They are then taken to a neighboring room where they are forced to their knees and shot in the back of the head. Their families will only be informed days or sometimes months after the execution that their relative has been executed.

Source: Amnesty International, December 2, 2011