A/HRC/35/40 56. Many of those arrested were beaten, kicked, clubbed and physically abused. On 25 March, the police brought up water cannons, prisoner transport vehicles, armoured vehicles and other equipment for dispersing crowds. On Independence Prospect in Minsk, the police ordered the crowd to disperse, but as the entire area was blocked off, there was no way out but into the police vans. 57. During the events, the practice of “preventive actions” reappeared. Attesting to the planned nature of the wave of repression, such actions on the eve of Freedom Day rallies focused on political leaders, human rights activists and journalists, and the arrests were conducted in half a dozen cities. On 25 March, prior to the rallies, riot police raided the office of the human rights centre Viasna, one of the country’s leading human rights groups, detaining 58 people. 58. The authorities prefabricated the illegality of the demonstrations. The Minsk city authorities did not respond in time to the organizers’ request to hold the 25 March rally in central Minsk. Only hours before the rally was due to begin did the authorities suggest an alternative site, which the organizers could not accept on logistical grounds. The mayor then announced that any gatherings on 25 March would be considered unlawful. 15 59. The context of the parliamentary elections of September 2016 was conducive to tightening the curtailment of the freedom to gather peacefully. Massive arrests would have been seen as a resurgence of the human rights violations that occurred in 2010. Thus, the trade-off between massive arrests and systematic fining of participants for peaceful assembly was observed on a large scale before, during and after the elections. The Special Rapporteur has received information according to which as many as 484 cases of fines were registered in 2016, representing a total amount of 200,000 euros, which makes an average of 413 euros per fine, which is more than one month of the average salary in Belarus. By fining those who dare to express different views, the authorities aim to block activists not only on political issues, but also on social and environmental issues. 60. For instance, a candidate of the United Civic Party received a fine of approximately $535 on 30 August 2016 for participating in a non-authorized rally to support the legal action of the mother of Yuri Zakharchenko. 16 The Special Rapporteur recalls that Mr. Zakharchenko, a former Minister of the Interior, disappeared in 1999. 61. A call to participate in a rally on 12 September 2016, the day following the parliamentary elections, was followed by many. Some participants received fines, including Pavel Severinets, who co-chairs the Belarusian Christian Democrat party (non-registered), who was fined $540.17 62. Only one activity envisaged in the inter-agency plan relates to the right to peaceful assembly, namely the review of international practices on authorizing mass events and the consideration of expediency of the application of such experiences in the national context. The Special Rapporteur recalls that the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review called on Belarus twice to bring its legislation on mass events into line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (see A/HRC/32/48, para. 51). The Special Rapporteur does not see the added value in reviewing practices when a State has been called to fulfil a clear obligation over more than six years. D. Situation of human rights defenders and civil society 63. On 25 March, police raided the offices of Viasna and detained 58 people, mostly Belarusian human rights activists, as well as journalists and a protection coordinator from the international group Frontline Defenders. Aleh Hulak, the chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, was also detained. They were taken to a police station, photographed, had their identity documents registered and were released after a couple of hours. 15 16 17 10 See www.hrw.org/news/2017/04/03/belarus-freedom-day-crackdown. See www.svaboda.org/a/kandydatku-u-deputaty-volhu-majoravu-znou-astrafavali/27955597.html. See www.bchd.info/12164-severinca-snova-oshtrafovali-za-palchisa-na-50-bazovyh.html.