Educational and social public association “Zvyano” was registered for the first time by the Minsk City Executive Committee on August 28, 2013. After the arrest of five activists of the association and the initiation of a criminal case in April 2021, it was liquidated in Minsk in January 2022. In Belarus “Zvyano” were engaged in human rights activities and advocacy of social issues.
Chronicle of persecution of activists
On April 5, 2021 our office and apartments were searched; equipment and documents were seized, and 5 female employees were detained on suspicion in a criminal case. On April 8, the trials took place, and everyone was charged with Article 23.4 “Disobeying a lawful order or demand of an official in the exercise of their official powers.” 3 employees spent 7 days in the Temporary Detention Center, and the director Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska was transferred to the Investigation Detention Centre 1 (SIZA-1) after 3 days in the Temporary Detention Center.
The caption: While the activists were held in the Temporary Detention Center, another search took place in the office and this message was left
On April 12, Tatsiana was recognized as a political prisoner. The whole time that the team was held in the Temporary Detention Center, they were subjected to torturous detention conditions: the cells without heating; absence of personal hygiene items; without ‘care packages’ from relatives, bedding, mattresses, blankets; with the lights on day and night; being woken up in the middle of the night; being held in solitary confinement; under psychological pressure; lack of medical care. On April 15, Tatsiana was released, and the certificate of release stated that “the need to keep her in custody no longer exists.”
A warrant for the transfer of the director to the Investigation Detention Centre 1 (SIZA-1)
Tanya’s husband, Volodymyr Yavorskyy, was forced to leave Belarus after the second search and use of physical and psychological pressure against him; under the threat of administrative arrest, placement of their son into an orphanage and deportation. He had to leave the country with the eight-year-old son within 48 hours (that’s how long the KGB officers gave before they would start carrying out the threats). All activists are still suspects in the criminal case. Our possessions that were seized have not been returned yet. In March 2022, after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine (from the territory of Belarus as well), the head of the association, Tatsiana Hatsura-Yavorska, secretly left Belarus to be with her family and help Ukraine.
Chronicle of persecution of the association, or the Last Link (the Last Zvyano)
According to the legislation of Belarus, two written warnings from the registering institution can be the basis for the liquidation of a public association. Also, the association can be liquidated without this condition if it engages in propaganda of war and extremist activities.
On May 19, 2021, the Department of Justice of the Minsk City Executive Committee sent a letter to the public association demanding additional information about the association’s activities. It was impossible to provide information, as all documents and equipment were confiscated during the search on April 5. The head of the association visited the office of the Ministry of Justice to explain the situation and find out the details. During the meeting, the chief specialist of the administration Drachan O.R. stated that a command was given to liquidate the association and offered to “self-liquidate” voluntarily. The activists of the association refused to do that, and on June 4 the association was given a written warning. In addition to the fact that Zvyano did not provide the requested information, according to the registration body, the association did not have the right to monitor the work of the healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zvyano filed a lawsuit to appeal this decision and submitted search reports to the court, which showed that all documents and equipment were in the Investigative Committee, as well as the refusal of the Investigative Committee to return part of the necessary documents that the Ministry of Justice demanded. Also, Zvyano defended its right, in accordance with the Statute and legislation of Belarus, to collect and analyze information in the field of health care and exercise public control over the activities of state institutions.
On July 20, the Minsk City Court sided with the Ministry of Justice; until the ruling came into force, it was appealed to the Supreme Court.
On July 22, the Department of Justice of the Minsk City Executive Committee filed a lawsuit to liquidate the association to the Minsk City Court. The statement of the Ministry of Justice noted that the association was engaged in extremist activities, and the leadership of the association spread false information about the political, economic, and social situation, which discredited the Republic of Belarus. This statement was based on a letter from the Economic Crimes Department of the Criminal Police of the Minsk City Executive Committee. The letter itself from the “security forces” was marked “for official use”, and the representatives of Zvyano were not given access to this document during the hearing; a note from the judge stating that she was familiar with its contents was attached to the case materials instead of the letter. Because of the fact that the written warning, which the association appealed against in the Supreme Court, was the basis in the claim for liquidation, the Minsk City Court postponed the consideration of the case until the Supreme Court rules on the case of the Written Warning.
The claim for liquidation
On September 14, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the Minsk City Court was right in dismissing Zvyano’s suit against the Ministry of Justice’s written warning to Zvyano. The written warning came into force.
On October 5, the liquidation process of Zvyano resumed in the Minsk City Court. The petition of Zvyano to call witnesses and get access to the inspection materials of the Economic Crimes Department of the Criminal Police of the Minsk City Executive Committee, according to which Zvyano engaged in propaganda of extremist activities, was not granted. Zvyano was liquidated by a court decision. Until the decision came into force, the association had time to appeal against it.
To delay the process, the association filed an appeal without paying the fee and was given time until November 5 to correct the errors. After paying the fee, the case was sent to the Supreme Court.
On January 17, 2022, the Supreme Court heard the case. The Supreme Court came to the conclusion that Zvyano violated the law and the Statute of the association, engaged in propaganda of extremism, and the head of the association spread false information discrediting the political, social, and economic system of the Republic of Belarus. According to the decision of the Supreme Court, Zvyano was liquidated.
It was the last officially registered human rights association in Belarus.
Directions of Zvyano’s work in Belarus: targeted assistance to vulnerable groups (addicted single parents; persons released from places of imprisonment); advocacy aimed at improving healthcare services (addicted people, access to HPV vaccinations, monitoring of the health care system during the COVID-19 pandemic); education and advocacy in the field of human rights (WATCH DOCS Belarus, International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival; a photo exhibition dedicated to Belarusian doctors “The machine breathes but I don’t”; the return to Belarus of Kazimir Malevich’s book “God is not Cast Down”); participation in the preparation of human rights defenders’ reports and documentation of torture after the events in August 2020.
Zvyano renewed its registration in Ukraine on April 28, 2022. The purpose of the association is to assist in implementing and protecting human rights and freedoms, to help the military and civilian population affected by the war as well as to reduce the negative effects of the war.
In Ukraine, we are engaged in humanitarian aid (we collect money and purchase VAC devices for the treatment of the wounded in Ukrainian hospitals), rehabilitation of ex-servicemen (Rehabilitation Center “LANKA”) as well as cultural projects aimed at dialogue between two nations (Festival of Documentary Films “1084. On the border”; exhibition of works by Uladzimir Cesler).