2 October 1997       Doc. 7933

ADOC7933

      MOTION FOR AN ORDER

      on political trials and violation of national minority rights

      in Lithuania

      presented by Mr Glotov and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

1.       Although the Lithuanian authorities claim that generally accepted standards of human rights are observed, in practice there are a number of alarming facts indicating that persecution of political opponents and infringement of the rights of national minorities remain an essential part of the internal policy of the Lithuanian Government.

2.       Despite the absence of ethnic discrimination in the legislation, the daily practice of the authorities can be characterised as a hidden and forced assimilation of national minorities. For instance, even in the Russian language schools documentation must be kept in Lithuanian only; teachers are not allowed to conduct classes in these schools unless they pass an examination in the "official" language. There is an alarming tendency to increasingly limit the use of the languages of the national minorities in political work, in the mass media and in official communication of the population with the authorities.

3.       There is a growing concern over the plight of the opposition leaders Mr. M. Burokevicus, 70 years old, and Mr. Y. Ermalavicius, 56 years old, who were forcefully brought to Lithuania in January 1994 from one of the neighbouring states, and who have been kept in detention ever since and are now standing trial. Their health is in a critical state. But the Lithuanian authorities refuse to release them from detention although it may lead to their deaths. There is sufficient ground to doubt the fairness of the trial and the objectiveness of the court which might be used by the authorities as an instrument of political reprisals.

4.       Defendants in this political trial in Lithuania are subject to additional harassment. One of the defendants, Mr. S. Mitskevich, 67 years old, who suffers from serious heart problems was accused of assaulting a woman at 5 o'clock in the morning and sentenced to one year imprisonment. The person allegedly assaulted by Mr. Mitskevch is said to be connected with one of the Lithuanian security services. Mr. Mitskevich was not allowed to visit Moscow at the beginning of the year to participate in the funeral of his brother. Now the Lithuanian authorities are refusing to grant him permission to travel to Moscow at the invitation of the Moscow city government to undergo heart surgery.

5.       A prominent political activist, Mr. V. Ivanov, was recently sentenced to one year imprisonment and a fine of 70 thousand litas (about 17 thousand US dollars) just because in his book "The Lithuanian Prison" he expressed strong doubts about the official version of the circumstances of the death of people in clashes in Vilnius on 13 January 1991. Mr. Ivanov has already served three and a half years in prison for his participation in political developments in Lithuania in 1990 and 1991 and has based his allegations on the official materials included in the state case against him. His new imprisonment is clearly an attempt by the authorities to silence one of their main critics and to hide the truth about the above-mentioned events. He is a widower and the only one to support his 12 year old son and 74 year old mother.

6.       The above-mentioned facts and several other cases not mentioned here but well known in Lithuania confirm that the policy of the Lithuanian authorities as regards their political opponents and national minorities is of a repressive and discriminatory nature and violates the international obligations of the Lithuania Government contained in the relevant international documents signed by that Government.

7.       The Assembly requests the Monitoring Committee, within the framework of the dialogue with the Lithuanian authorities as stipulated by Resolution 1339, to send its special representative to carry out an on-the-spot investigation into the situation with regard to political prisoners in the Lithuanian Republic as well as with regard to the issues mentioned in paragraph 2 above, and prepare a report.

      Signed: ¹

Glotov, Russia, UEL

Filimonov, Russia, UEL

Marmazov, Ukraine, UEL

Kuptsov, Russia, UEL

Melnikov, Russia, UEL

Oleinik, Russia, UEL

Savitsky, Russia, UEL

Khunov, Ukraine, UEL

Chulakov, Ukraine, UEL

Rakhansky, Ukraine, UEL

Chyzh, Ukraine, UEL

Jirousova, Czech Republic, UEL

Averchev, Russia, SOC

Zhebrovsky, Russia, NR

Vishnyakov, Russia, NR

¹ .        SOC : Socialist Group

      NR : Not Registered

      UEL : Group of the Unified European Left