A/HRC/41/52 distinguishing them from other detainees. 16 The intention to toughen conditions of detention for drug-related offenders was explicitly formulated in 2014 by President Lukašenka who stated that “unbearable conditions need to be created” for such prisoners so that they would rather “ask for death”.17 On 8 March 2019, a detainee from penal colony No. 22, known to host mostly individuals sentenced under article 328, committed suicide. 18 Prior to that, in November 2018, detainees in the same penal colony reportedly protested against the prison administration regarding their conditions of detention, notably about insufficient health care, the rude attitude of the penitentiary personnel and the lack of contacts with relatives. 19 The authorities denied that the protest had taken place. 20 28. The lack of external independent oversight of detention facilities remains a concern. The powers of the public monitoring commissions under the Ministry of Justice are seriously limited. For example, the commissions cannot visit places of detention unannounced and cannot hold individual confidential discussions with detainees. Moreover, the authorities rarely make public information about conditions of detention, notably on issues related to deaths and epidemics in places of detention. 21 29. The Special Rapporteur deplores the fact that the Government decided in late October 2018 to abandon the development of the draft law against domestic violence in the face of criticism from conservative groups. Earlier that month, the President had publicly expressed his opposition to the concept by defining the notion of domestic violence as a “stupid thing borrowed from the West” adding that sometimes a good whipping was good for a child.22 3. Arbitrary arrest and detention and enforced disappearances 30. Compared to the mass arrests that occurred in the past, the present reporting period was relatively calm. That could be explained by the lack of major political or social events. However, the systemic issues documented in the past remain present in law and in practice. Human rights defenders, activists, journalists and ordinary citizens continue to be arrested or detained on a regular basis for enjoying their legitimate right to freedom of assembly and expression. Any unauthorized meeting or gathering usually leads to arrests, potential detention ranging from a few hours to several days and very often to an administrative sentence to pay a fine. 31. An emblematic example of this is the peaceful gatherings that have taken place every Sunday since 25 February 2018 in the centre of Brest to protest against the construction of a battery plant. At the time of writing, 27 individuals had been fined for taking part in the protests or calling for people to join them. 23 Many of them have spent a day or two in detention. The work of journalists and bloggers covering the events has also been regularly interfered with: on 3 March 2019, two Belsat journalists, Alies Liaŭčuk and Milana Charytonava, were arrested on the street on their way to one of the protests and sentenced to a fine for their coverage of previous protests. 24 Two bloggers frequently covering the events, Siarhiej Piatruchin and Aliaksandr Kabanaŭ, have faced systematic interference with their work, having been repeatedly arrested and fined. 25 32. Any sign of protest that could be interpreted as challenging the Government is acted upon immediately by law enforcement forces. On 4 January 2019, three activists and a 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 See www.bbc.com/russian/features-43247680 and https://belaruspartisan.by/politic/378753/ (both in Russian). See www.interfax.by/news/belarus/1173223 (in Russian). See https://belsat.eu/ru/in-focus/v-volkovysskoj-kolonii-povesilsya-zaklyuchennyj/ (in Russian). See https://platformabelarus.com/ik-22/ (in Russian). See www.facebook.com/mvdgovby/posts/2286442274918083 (in Russian). See http://spring96.org/en/news/89617. See https://news.tut.by/society/610593.html (in Russian). See https://spring96.org/en/news/92168. See https://belsat.eu/ru/news/alesya-levchuka-i-milanu-haritonovu-otpustili-posle-sostavleniyaprotokolov/ (in Russian). See https://news.tut.by/society/615301.html (in Russian). 7