Andrei Sannikov
Encyclopedia
Andrei Olegovich Sannikov is a Belarus
ian 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 Belarus
, resigning as a form of political protest. He co-founded the civil action Charter 97
, and was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize in 2005.
Sannikov was a candidate at the 2010 presidential election in Belarus, and had the second highest percentage of the popular votes after incumbent Alexander Lukashenko
. He was incarcerated in a Minsk
KGB facility for peacefully protesting at a demonstration after the elections, and faced up to a 15 year imprisonment. Amnesty International
labeled him a prisoner of conscience
and called for his immediate release on the grounds that he may be facing torture
and medical neglect while in custody. On 14 May 2011, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment on charges of organizing mass disturbances. According to his wife, noted journalist Iryna Khalip
, as of September 2011 Sannikov is in grave danger of murder and injury while incarcerated, and is being pressured by authorities to leave politics.
. His father was a well-known Belarusian art researcher while his mother was a teacher of the Russian language. His grandfather Konstantin Sannikov was a well-known actor and film director in the BSSR, one of founders of the Janka Kupala National Theatre, and a teacher at the Belarusian Theater and Art Institute in Moscow. Sannikov first attended school #42 as a boy, and in 1977 he graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University
. He is fluent in his native Belarusian
, Russian, English, and French.
After graduating, Sannikov spent time working for a Soviet oil company in Pakistan
and in Egypt
working on the construction of an aluminum plant.
in New-York City. He remained in New York for five years.
, Sannikov graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
in Moscow. Immediately after he worked in the Foreign Ministry of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic
. At one of the sessions, he quoted “The Foreign Ministry should not be in service of one party, but must serve to the Belarusian nation.”
During this time, he was also an advisor to the Belarusian diplomatic mission in Switzerland
.
, and obtained the rank of Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.
As Deputy Minister in winter of 1995, he co-authored a paper defending the Nunn-Lugar program, and admonishing the U.S. Congress for its inclination to reduce its funding. The Nunn-Lugar project had originated in the U.S. Senate in 1991 after the former Soviet Republics decided to get rid of their nuclear weapons. The program, a part of the U.S. Department of Defense, provided Belarus with technical and financial assistance to reduce and disarm nuclear weapons.
In November 1996, on the eve of a controversial referendum, Sannikov resigned from his post as a sign of protest. The referendum severely limited democratic standards and the separation of powers in Belarusia, and changed the Belarus constitution to extend Lukashenko's presidential term. According to the Belarus Speaker of Parliament, 20 to 50 percent of the counted votes were falsified.
, becoming its international coordinator. Charter 97 is a human rights group modeled on Charter 77
in then-Czechoslovakia
. The group hosts one of the most popular Belarusian news web pages, and is a rare voice of opposition to the Lukashenko party in Belarus.
created the Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces of Belarus, which actively speaks for human rights. Victor Ivashkevich and Mikhail Marinich also took part.
, 2004
, 2006
, and 2008
, which were heavily criticized by the OSCE and the EU for lack of transparency, intimidation of voters, suppression of opposition groups, and suspected falsification of results. When the mass protests after the presidential election in 2006 were violently suppressed by riot police, Sannikov stated he was beaten and jailed, and his computers, disks, and memory sticks were seized.
in Vienna. The Bruno Award celebrates accomplishments in human rights.
and other politicians, initiated the civil campaign European Belarus. The campaign advocates joining Belarus with the European Union
and aims to work towards the standards that would allow inclusion.
. Russia has frequently used Gazprom
, its state-run gas company, to put pressure on countries such as Ukraine
and Georgia
. Sannikov worried that as Lukashenko's cordial relations with the Kremlin
went sour, especially as Boris Yeltsin
was replaced with Vladimir Putin
, the new gas supply contract could be used by Russia to manipulate the Belarusian economy.
In April 2008, he stated that at the time, Lukashenko was "consciously set to break relations with the US, after which rupture of relations with Europe could follow, as he is preparing surrender of Belarus to Russia. And he needs scapegoats to blame for these things happening." At the time, Belarusian authorities were looking to reduce staff of the Belarusian mission in Washington DC.
In November 2010, Sannikov stated that the electoral process was rigged from the outset, and that he had no likely chance of defeating Lukashenko. He said his goal was to document the nation's flawed democracy and bring out opposition demonstrators. When asked if he feared for his life, he responded “It’s a possibility; you have to think about it.”
Oleg Bebenin was found hanged
at his summer house on the outskirts of Minsk
. Bebenin was also a key member of Sannikov's campaign, and a leading journalist. He was also director and co-founder of Charter97, which had become one of the few outlets for information on "opposition" candidates during the election. The official investigation stated that the death appeared to be a suicide. Sannikov expressed suspicion of the "suicide", saying that Bebenin was in good mental health, and also that no suicide note was found, among other factors. Sannikov also stated he had no confidence in the official investigation: "It's impossible in this situation of dictatorship. Eleven years have passed since the first disappearances began in Belarus and nothing was investigated."
On 29 November 2010, Sannikov organized a meeting at his alma mater Minsk State Linguistic University
, and about 500 people took part. There were attempts to hinder the meeting; flyers were torn down, administration was prohibited from placing messages on the notice board the day of the meeting, and professors stated they had been warned "it is better not to attend" by university staff. Students from other universities and citizens attended a well. During the meeting, he called on students to go to Minsk's October Square at 8 pm after the 19 December election.
, demanding they withdraw the registration of Aleksandr Lukashenko, and also remove Lidiya Yermoshyna, the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, from office. In both cases, he cited that their positions were illegal. Yermoshyna was a member of Lukashenka's political team, compromising her neutrality, and was under international scrutiny for purportedly rigging the previous election. He also brought up that Lukashenko ignored his own guidelines on how much time presidential candidates were allowed to speak on television (2 times for 30 minutes each). Lukashenko also had propagandistic meetings at places not included on the Minsk City Executive Committee
list where meetings could be held; Lukashenko held a large event at the Palace of the Republic, and funded it with the state budget against the rules. Sannikov's complaints were ineffective.
were among those attacked by police during the rally, and according to eyewitness statements gathered by Charter 97
, Sannikov was singled out from the crowd for a beating.
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 further beaten.
On 20 December, it was reported that despite an Obama
administration warning that the US did not consider the election results valid and wanted the prisoners to be released, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
described the Belarus situation as an "internal affair." On 24 December, the KGB raided and searched Sannikov's flat, where his family were staying.
On 2 March 2011, Sannikov's spokesman Alyaksandr Atroshchankau, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for allegedly "organizing and taking part in mass riot" (penal code section 293) during the December protests.
Sannikov's lawyer Pavel Sapelka was disbarred on 3 March, and his mother was able to find a new defense attorney, Maryna Kavaleuskaya, to represent his case on 12 March. She met briefly with Sannikov on 15 March. Later, Andrei Varvashevich was added to his defense team. They have stated Sannikov is suffering from untreated gout
and otitis
, as well as leg injuries.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus
, the “Belarusian presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov is accused of organizing mass riot, attended by violence against a person, violent attacks, destruction of property, and armed resistance to representatives of the authorities.” Investigators stated that Sannikov's guilt was “proved in full by the facts obtained during the criminal investigation.”
The German section of Amnesty International issued an "urgent action" alert, stating that they believed Sannikov to be facing torture and maltreatment while in custody.
April appeal
On 15 April, Minsk City Court heard an appeal from Andrei Sannikov's lawyers, asking for his criminal persecution to be stopped and a softer measure of restraint to be enacted. The appeal was denied. He was to be tried on 27 April. On 14 May he was jailed for five years for organising mass disturbances. According to Amnesty International, as of 18 May, he was being held incommunicado and was at "serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment".
, was dubbed a "Hero of Europe" by TIME
in 2005 and was awarded the 2009 Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation
.
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 ,...
ian 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
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. From 1995 to 1996, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Belarus)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus is the Belarusian government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Belarus.The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Sergei Martynov. Previous Ministers include Andrei Sannikov....
, resigning as a form of political protest. He co-founded the civil action 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...
, and was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize in 2005.
Sannikov was a candidate at the 2010 presidential election in Belarus, and had the second highest percentage of the popular votes after incumbent 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...
. He was incarcerated in a 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...
KGB facility for peacefully protesting at a demonstration after the elections, and faced up to a 15 year imprisonment. 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...
labeled him a prisoner 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...
and called for his immediate release on the grounds that he may be facing torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and medical neglect while in custody. On 14 May 2011, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment on charges of organizing mass disturbances. According to his wife, noted journalist Iryna Khalip
Iryna Khalip
Iryna Khalip is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta, known for her criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko....
, as of September 2011 Sannikov is in grave danger of murder and injury while incarcerated, and is being pressured by authorities to leave politics.
Early life, education
Andrei Sannikov was born on 8 March 1954 in the city of 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...
. His father was a well-known Belarusian art researcher while his mother was a teacher of the Russian language. His grandfather Konstantin Sannikov was a well-known actor and film director in the BSSR, one of founders of the Janka Kupala National Theatre, and a teacher at the Belarusian Theater and Art Institute in Moscow. Sannikov first attended school #42 as a boy, and in 1977 he graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University
Minsk State Linguistic University
Minsk State Linguistic University is a university in Minsk, Belarus. It specialises in foreign languages with major focus on English, French, German and Spanish. It was founded in 1948 as Minsk Institute for Foreign Languages. In 2006 it had 8 departments....
. He is fluent in his native Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
, Russian, English, and French.
After graduating, Sannikov spent time working for a Soviet oil company in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
working on the construction of an aluminum plant.
Work at UN Secretariat
Sannikov then went to work at the Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, and in 1982 began serving at the UN SecretariatUnited Nations Secretariat
The United Nations Secretariat is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and it is headed by the United Nations Secretary-General, assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for...
in New-York City. He remained in New York for five years.
Diplomatic Academy
Just before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Sannikov graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
The Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation also known as State Educational Institution Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, is a diplomatic institution established in 1934 to teach and train the diplomatic and...
in Moscow. Immediately after he worked in the Foreign Ministry of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Belarus)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus is the Belarusian government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Belarus.The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Sergei Martynov. Previous Ministers include Andrei Sannikov....
. At one of the sessions, he quoted “The Foreign Ministry should not be in service of one party, but must serve to the Belarusian nation.”
Nuclear delegation
In 1992 Sannikov headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations (the Soviet Republics agreed to disarm all nuclear weapons in 1991). He had authority of signature in the matter on behalf of Belarus, an authority he retained until 1995.During this time, he was also an advisor to the Belarusian diplomatic mission in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
From 1995 to 1996 he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of BelarusMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Belarus)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus is the Belarusian government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Belarus.The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Sergei Martynov. Previous Ministers include Andrei Sannikov....
, and obtained the rank of Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.
As Deputy Minister in winter of 1995, he co-authored a paper defending the Nunn-Lugar program, and admonishing the U.S. Congress for its inclination to reduce its funding. The Nunn-Lugar project had originated in the U.S. Senate in 1991 after the former Soviet Republics decided to get rid of their nuclear weapons. The program, a part of the U.S. Department of Defense, provided Belarus with technical and financial assistance to reduce and disarm nuclear weapons.
In November 1996, on the eve of a controversial referendum, Sannikov resigned from his post as a sign of protest. The referendum severely limited democratic standards and the separation of powers in Belarusia, and changed the Belarus constitution to extend Lukashenko's presidential term. According to the Belarus Speaker of Parliament, 20 to 50 percent of the counted votes were falsified.
Charter 97
In November 1997, Sannikov was one of the co-founders of the civil initiative Charter 97Charter 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...
, becoming its international coordinator. Charter 97 is a human rights group modeled on Charter 77
Charter 77
Charter 77 was an informal civic initiative in communist Czechoslovakia from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Václav Havel, Jan Patočka, Zdeněk Mlynář, Jiří Hájek, and Pavel Kohout. Spreading the text of the document was...
in then-Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. The group hosts one of the most popular Belarusian news web pages, and is a rare voice of opposition to the Lukashenko party in Belarus.
98 Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces
In 1998, Sannikov and Hienadz KarpienkaHienadz Karpienka
Dr. Hienadź Karpienka was a Belarusian scientist and an important politician in opposition to president Alexander Lukashenko.Hienadz Karpienka was born in Minsk.In 1987 he was director of the Maladzyechna metallurgy plant....
created the Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces of Belarus, which actively speaks for human rights. Victor Ivashkevich and Mikhail Marinich also took part.
Protests
In the years following, Sannikov helped organize a variety of non-violent protests in Belarus, including protests against the elections of 2001Belarusian presidential election, 2001
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 9 September 2001. The result was a victory for Alexander Lukashenko, who received 77.4% of the vote. Voter turnout was 83.9%.-Results:...
, 2004
Belarusian parliamentary election, 2004
Parliamentary elections were held in Belarus on 17 October 2004, with a second round of voting in two constituencies on 27 October, and a third round in one on 20 March 2005. The vast majority of successful candidates, 97 of 109, were independents...
, 2006
Belarusian presidential election, 2006
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 19 March 2006. The result was a victory for incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko, who received 84.4% of the vote. However, western observers deemed the elections rigged...
, and 2008
Belarusian parliamentary election, 2008
The Belarusian parliamentary election, 2008 was held in Belarus on 28 September 2008. The 110 seats in the House of Representatives were at stake....
, which were heavily criticized by the OSCE and the EU for lack of transparency, intimidation of voters, suppression of opposition groups, and suspected falsification of results. When the mass protests after the presidential election in 2006 were violently suppressed by riot police, Sannikov stated he was beaten and jailed, and his computers, disks, and memory sticks were seized.
Bruno Award
On 4 April 2005, the international Bruno Kreisky Prize was awarded to Sannikov at an award ceremony in the State Hall of the National LibraryAustrian National Library
The Austrian National Library , is the largest library in Austria, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary...
in Vienna. The Bruno Award celebrates accomplishments in human rights.
European Belarus
In 2008 Andrei Sannikov, together with Viktar Ivashkevich, Mikhail MarynichMikhail Marynich
Mikhail Marynich — an opposition leader in Belarus. He was a former minister of foreign economic affairs, and former ambassador of Belarus to Latvia....
and other politicians, initiated the civil campaign European Belarus. The campaign advocates joining Belarus with the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and aims to work towards the standards that would allow inclusion.
2010 Presidential Campaign
In March 2010 Andrei Sannikov declared his intention on the TV channel Belsat to take part in Belarus presidential election of 2010 as a candidate. He was considered one of the main opposition candidates along with Vladimir Nekliayev and Yaroslav Romanchuk.Platform
In January 2007, Sannikov voiced disapproval of the natural gas supply contract Lukashenko signed with RussiaRussia
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...
. Russia has frequently used Gazprom
Gazprom
Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...
, its state-run gas company, to put pressure on countries such as Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Georgia
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...
. Sannikov worried that as Lukashenko's cordial relations with the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
went sour, especially as Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
was replaced with Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, the new gas supply contract could be used by Russia to manipulate the Belarusian economy.
In April 2008, he stated that at the time, Lukashenko was "consciously set to break relations with the US, after which rupture of relations with Europe could follow, as he is preparing surrender of Belarus to Russia. And he needs scapegoats to blame for these things happening." At the time, Belarusian authorities were looking to reduce staff of the Belarusian mission in Washington DC.
In November 2010, Sannikov stated that the electoral process was rigged from the outset, and that he had no likely chance of defeating Lukashenko. He said his goal was to document the nation's flawed democracy and bring out opposition demonstrators. When asked if he feared for his life, he responded “It’s a possibility; you have to think about it.”
Death of press secretary
In the first week of September 2010, late on Friday afternoon, Sannikov's close friend and campaign press secretaryPress secretary
A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage....
Oleg Bebenin was found hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
at his summer house on the outskirts of 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...
. Bebenin was also a key member of Sannikov's campaign, and a leading journalist. He was also director and co-founder of Charter97, which had become one of the few outlets for information on "opposition" candidates during the election. The official investigation stated that the death appeared to be a suicide. Sannikov expressed suspicion of the "suicide", saying that Bebenin was in good mental health, and also that no suicide note was found, among other factors. Sannikov also stated he had no confidence in the official investigation: "It's impossible in this situation of dictatorship. Eleven years have passed since the first disappearances began in Belarus and nothing was investigated."
November meeting
On 18 November 2010, Sannikov was officially registered as a candidate.On 29 November 2010, Sannikov organized a meeting at his alma mater Minsk State Linguistic University
Minsk State Linguistic University
Minsk State Linguistic University is a university in Minsk, Belarus. It specialises in foreign languages with major focus on English, French, German and Spanish. It was founded in 1948 as Minsk Institute for Foreign Languages. In 2006 it had 8 departments....
, and about 500 people took part. There were attempts to hinder the meeting; flyers were torn down, administration was prohibited from placing messages on the notice board the day of the meeting, and professors stated they had been warned "it is better not to attend" by university staff. Students from other universities and citizens attended a well. During the meeting, he called on students to go to Minsk's October Square at 8 pm after the 19 December election.
Complaints
On 15 December 2010, Sannikov logged two legal complaint applications to the Central Election Commission of BelarusCentral Election Commission of Belarus
The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus is the superior power body responsible for conducting national elections and overseeing local elections in Belarus.-International Cooperation:...
, demanding they withdraw the registration of Aleksandr Lukashenko, and also remove Lidiya Yermoshyna, the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, from office. In both cases, he cited that their positions were illegal. Yermoshyna was a member of Lukashenka's political team, compromising her neutrality, and was under international scrutiny for purportedly rigging the previous election. He also brought up that Lukashenko ignored his own guidelines on how much time presidential candidates were allowed to speak on television (2 times for 30 minutes each). Lukashenko also had propagandistic meetings at places not included on the Minsk City Executive Committee
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...
list where meetings could be held; Lukashenko held a large event at the Palace of the Republic, and funded it with the state budget against the rules. Sannikov's complaints were ineffective.
19 December election
The presidential elections took place on 19 December 2010, and Aleksandr Lukashenko was proclaimed the winner with 75.65% of the popular vote. Excluding Lukashenko's 5,130,557 votes, Sannikov would have won the election; he earned 156,419 votes, or 2.43% of the total. The next closest competitor was Yaroslav Romanchuk, with 127,281 votes, at 1.98%. Of the 1,314,219 votes that went towards "oppositional candidates" (anyone not Lukashenko) he earned 11%.Demonstration suppression
After the election results were revealed, the opposition leaders organized a demonstration on the evening of 19 December in the center of Minsk. However, the demonstration was suppressed by the police. Sannikov and his wife Iryna KhalipIryna Khalip
Iryna Khalip is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta, known for her criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko....
were among those attacked by police during the rally, and according to eyewitness statements gathered by 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...
, Sannikov was singled out from the crowd for a beating.
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 further beaten.
Imprisonment
Both Khalip and Sannikov were detained in a KGB facility in Minsk. According to an eyewitness, Sannikov was forced to stand for an hour during the initial processing, despite the injuries to his legs. Currently, Sannikov is facing charges for igniting mass disorder which would entail 8 to 15 years in prison.On 20 December, it was reported that despite an Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
administration warning that the US did not consider the election results valid and wanted the prisoners to be released, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
described the Belarus situation as an "internal affair." On 24 December, the KGB raided and searched Sannikov's flat, where his family were staying.
Custody issue
On 25 December, the Viasna Human Rights Centre in Minsk revealed that Belarusian authorities had attempted to seize Sannikov's three year old son. The boy was being looked after by his three grandparents, but when they tried to take food and blankets to Sannikov at the detention center, social services arrived at the boy's kindergarten. A family lawyer was alerted by friends, and intervened in the boy' removal.Continued imprisonement
A letter from Sannikov was received by his mother on 15 January. At that point, he had not seen his lawyer since 29 December.On 2 March 2011, Sannikov's spokesman Alyaksandr Atroshchankau, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for allegedly "organizing and taking part in mass riot" (penal code section 293) during the December protests.
Sannikov's lawyer Pavel Sapelka was disbarred on 3 March, and his mother was able to find a new defense attorney, Maryna Kavaleuskaya, to represent his case on 12 March. She met briefly with Sannikov on 15 March. Later, Andrei Varvashevich was added to his defense team. They have stated Sannikov is suffering from untreated gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
and otitis
Otitis
Otitis is a general term for inflammation or infection of the ear, in both humans and other animals.It is subdivided into the following:*Otitis externa, external otitis, or "swimmer's ear" involves the outer ear and ear canal. In external otitis, the ear hurts when touched or pulled.*Otitis media...
, as well as leg injuries.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus is a body of the Belarusian Government that is charged with the internal affairs of Belarus. Day to day law enforcement is carried out by the Militsiya. The Ministry is also tasked with providing security to state buildings and officials. Organizations such...
, the “Belarusian presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov is accused of organizing mass riot, attended by violence against a person, violent attacks, destruction of property, and armed resistance to representatives of the authorities.” Investigators stated that Sannikov's guilt was “proved in full by the facts obtained during the criminal investigation.”
The German section of Amnesty International issued an "urgent action" alert, stating that they believed Sannikov to be facing torture and maltreatment while in custody.
April appeal
On 15 April, Minsk City Court heard an appeal from Andrei Sannikov's lawyers, asking for his criminal persecution to be stopped and a softer measure of restraint to be enacted. The appeal was denied. He was to be tried on 27 April. On 14 May he was jailed for five years for organising mass disturbances. According to Amnesty International, as of 18 May, he was being held incommunicado and was at "serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment".
Personal life
Andrei Sannikov has two sons. His wife, Belarusian journalist Iryna KhalipIryna Khalip
Iryna Khalip is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta, known for her criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko....
, was dubbed a "Hero of Europe" by TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
in 2005 and was awarded the 2009 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
- Foreign relations of BelarusForeign relations of BelarusThe Byelorussian SSR was one of only two Soviet republics to be separate members of the United Nations . Both republics and the Soviet Union joined the UN when the organization was founded in 1945.-Prior to 2001:...
- Belarusian referendum, 1996
- Belarusian presidential election, 2010
- Iryna KhalipIryna KhalipIryna Khalip is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta, known for her criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko....
- Alexander LukashenkoAlexander LukashenkoAlexander 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...
- Charter'97
External links
- European Belarus
- Charter'97
- Andrei Sannikov on Facebook