Only 1 (!) MP abstained when voting on law on special services

It became known to Euroradio that there is just one step left and the new amended law on special services will come into force - it needs to be signed by the state leader. According to human rights defender Valyantsin Stefanovich, the draft bill "On including amendments and additions into the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On state security authorities of the Republic of Belarus" was supported by the members of the House of Representatives in two readings already, and even was verified by the senators of the Council of Republic.

Euroradio decided to find out how the House of Representatives adopted this law, whether anyone voted against this draft bill. However, head of the Administration for informational-analytical work Mikalaj Lis informed that the amendments had been adopted by the MPs secretly; even their press-center knew nothing.

Mikalaj Lis: “I cannot tell you anything as we had no access to this draft bill. It was a closed session of the House of Representatives, and we are not authorized to see these documents”.

According to him, employees of the House of Representatives' press-center cannot even see the protocol of the session which states how many people voted "for", how many people voted "against" and how many of them abstained.

The secret of the voting was revealed by deputy head of the Constant Commission on agrarian issues Uladzimir Mayorau. According to him, there was one MP who was undecided with regard to all amendments and changes suggested by the draft bill. However, it was only during the first hearing.

Uladzimir Mayorau: “Only one MP abstained after the first reading. All the rest voted normally. I mean, they voted in accordance with their conscience”.

Euroradio asked the MP whether these amendments to the law gave too many powers to special services' representatives. 

Uladzimir Mayorau: “What is adopted - is adopted correctly. There are not too many powers - just enough. These authorities needed to be provided more powers, or rather, necessary powers, and this was done”.

Human rights defender Valyantsin Stefanovich disagrees with that. For instance, according to him, there are too many questions with regard to Art. 16.3 "Use and implementation of arms". The previous law also allowed representatives of special services to use arms, but in strictly defined cases.

Valyantsin Stefanovich: “Now they can use arms in a wider range of cases and they only need to inform the public prosecutor on this afterwards. They also have very broad authorizations to use physical force. These articles describe cases when they can do it, and there is an addition "and in other cases too". It always worries us when such "other cases" are stated in a law, as this can in fact lead to tortures”.

The human rights defender is also alarmed by the right of the special services' representatives to break into private accommodation.

Valyantsin Stefanovich: “Previously, it seemed that they had a right to break into private apartments of the people who committed crimes or who were suspected in having committed a crime, or if there were enough grounds to suspect that a crime had been committed in a certain house or apartment. They needed to open the locks and to inform a public prosecutor on this within 24 hours afterwards. Now their functions have been expanded and the new law says nothing about informing a prosecutor”.

In Stefanovich's opinion, this draft bill has become the outcome of the contradiction between the public prosecution and the KGB, of the KGB's longing for more independence. As KGB's functions narrow on the background of creating of the Investigatory Committee, which will take responsibility for criminal persecution. 

Valyantsin Stefanovich: “It turns out that the KGB will no longer commit criminal persecution on other categories of cases, like struggle against drug trafficking etc, and will perform the only function, like in Soviet times - political investigation”.

MP Mayorau is convinced that these accusations are not grounded. Meanwhile, the KGB press-center refused to give any comments with regard to the amendments in the law on their activity, adopted by MPs and senators: “No comments so far”.