On Wednesday it became known that in Belarus were amended the laws on political parties and public associations, as well as the law on the activities of secret services.
Moreover, all was done in secret. The government introduced it to the House of Representatives. Deputies adopted, the Council of the Republic approved, and society knew nothing about it.
In particular, in the Criminal Code was introduced the Article setting the responsibility for receiving, keeping or transferring foreign sponsorship aid "in order to carry out extremist activities or other actions prohibited by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus or funding political parties, unions (associations) of political parties, preparing or holding elections, referendums, recalling of a deputy, a member of the Council of the Republic of Belarus".
It is also prohibited to use a foreign aid for "organizing meetings, rallies, marches, demonstrations, picketing, strikes, publication or distribution propaganda materials, holding seminars or other forms of political and mass agitation work among the population".
These actions committed within one year after imposing an administrative penalty for the same violations, in accordance with the amendments will be punished by fine or arrest for up to three months, or by restriction of liberty for up to three years, or by imprisonment for up to two years.
Moreover, the Criminal Code is amended by Article "Espionage", which can also be used by the Belarusian authorities against the opposition. It reads: "The recruitment of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus or other acts committed by a foreign citizen or a stateless person for the purpose of conducting activities in prejudice of the national security of Belarus, - are to be punished by imprisonment for the term from seven to fifteen years".
The Criminal Code is also amended by Article 369-3 "Violation of order of organization or holding mass events."
"Public calls for a meeting, rally, street processions, demonstrations or picketing in violation of the established order of their organization and holding, or involvement of persons to participate in such mass actions through violence, physical menace, fraud, or by paying of remuneration, or any other organization or holding of such events, if their conduct through negligence resulted in deaths, serious bodily harm to one or more persons or damage in a large scale in the absence of the crime's characters specified in Articles 293 and 342 of this Code - are to be punished by arrest for up to six months, or restriction of liberty for up to three years, or imprisonment for the same period", the article says.
Also, in the law on state security agencies were introduced amendments, which provides KGB with unlimited powers.
