"On August 4 [2000], it has been 3 years since Judge Viktor Shelepen of the Borisov District Court sentenced Vladimir Kudinov, a member of the 13th Supreme Soviet (Belarus' parliament outlawed by President Aleksandr Lukashenko in 1996 after a controversial referendum), to 7 years in prison and ordered the confiscation of his property for offering a $500 bribe to a road policeman."
Mr. Kudinov denied the charge and said that he was framed for putting his signature to an impeachment motion against President Lukashenko in the fall of 1996. His arrest on February 4, 1997 was illegal because he had parliamentary immunity from prosecution."
Various irregularities were reported during Mr. Kudinov's trial. For instance, technicians said that the tape recording of Mr. Kudinov's conversation with the policeman was edited, but the tape was regarded by the judge as the main piece of evidence. Mr. Kudinov's appeals to superior courts failed."
Mr. Kudinov's wife, Zoya, and his lawyers say that after the case became known abroad, the Procurator General's Office ordered material about the case and important documents that could prove that the charge was trumped-up disappeared after that."
Mr. Kudinov serves his term in a corrective labor camp in Minsk. He was twice put in a punishment cell, which reduces his chance of being pardoned under this year's amnesty. His term was shortened by 1 year as a result of a previous amnesty."
The prisoner was repeatedly offered to write a letter of repentance to Mr. Lukashenko, but he refused and was pressurized for that later."
Mrs. Kudinov told BelaPAN that the Ivatsevichi commercial company, which had been owned by her husband, was looted by the authorities. About 10 trucks and some other equipment was left to rust or stolen."
'It is difficult to assess the damage caused to the state. The firm used to pay $50,000 per month in taxes only,' Mrs. Kudinov said. "I approached the Procurator General's Office about the disappearing trucks and equipment, but they did not care about that." "
Cyril Svoboda, a member of the delegation of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly that visited Minsk recently, met with Mr. Kudinov on August 3 [2000]. Mr. Svoboda expressed his firm conviction that Mr. Kudinov's prosecution was politically motivated."
News Article: Vyesna-96 Human Rights Centre Publishes a Book about Kudinov
" 'The case of Vladimir Kudinov is a typical instance of arbitrary repression against unwanted people, who play an important role in the development of Belarusian society,' says a book titled, The Kudinov Case, which has been published by Belarus' Vyesna-96 (Spring '96) Human Rights Centre (Mensk)."
Kudinov, businessman and member of the 13th Supreme Soviet, once owned a trade and industrial company. He was one of the organisers of the impeachment campaign against President Aleksandr Lukashenko in 1996. Despite his immunity from prosecution, he was arrested in February 1997 and charged with an attempt to give a US $500 bribe to a highway patrolman in Borisov. Despite inconsistent and inconclusive evidence, Kudinov was convicted of bribery. On August 4, 1997, he was sentenced to 7 years in a strict regime labour camp. The court also ordered the forfeiture of his property."
The book is a collection of official documents and newspaper reports about the case and the fate of Kudinov's firm. The book was printed in Russia in 10,000 copies. According to Vyesna-96, the Centre is soon to publish 3 more books about political criminal cases that made headlines."
"Authorities in Belarus are attempting to strip Vladimir Kudinov, the member of the 13th Supreme Soviet who is serving a 7-year prison term, of the benefits which he enjoys as a participant in the clean-up operation following the Chornobyl accident [man-made disaster]. Mr Kudinov, who was one of those signed the motion for President Lukashenko's impeachment in 1996, was convicted of bribery in the following year."
The Internal Affairs Directorate of the Brest Regional Executive Committee has informed Mr Kudinov's wife that her husband should be deprived of the privileges granted under Article 19 of the Law 'On the Social Protection of People who Suffered from the Catastrophe at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station.' The directorate suggests that in the case of Kudinov, Article 19 should be replaced by Article 20 which provides for smaller privileges. Mrs Kudinov links what is going on to pressure on the part of higher authorities."
According to her, an official of the directorate has made this clear to her. In her opinion, Mr Kudinov might be granted amnesty if Article 19 applied to him."