The Chernobyl catastrophe gave me, as it did a great number of people, an enormous psychological shock. I considered that my duty as a doctor demands that I work towards a solution to the problems created by this catastrophe
- Yury Bandazhevsky in an interview, April 2000
Professor Yury Bandazhevsky, nuclear scientist, former rector of the Gomel Medical Institute and author of numerous books on the effects of radioactive emissions on individuals, was arrested on 13 July 1999 on suspicion of bribery. He remains detained, serving a five year sentence, which is not due to expire until January 2006. His imprisonment has led to widespread outrage, with organisations both within Belarus and outside believing that he is being penalised for his criticism of the Belarus government's public health policy, and, probably most importantly, his claims that the radioactivity still present in the region around the site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster has led to continuing, high levels of illness and disease, notably in children. International PEN shares concerns that Yuri Bandazhevsky is held in violation of his right to freedom of expression and is calling for his release.Members of Bandazhevsky's family were informed neither about the reasons for the arrest nor his whereabouts. Twenty-tree days later, Bandazhevsky was charged-in the absence of a lawyer-with receiving bribes from his students. According to Bandazhevsky, he was then placed in solitary confinement during which time he was subject to severe psychological pressure. He ate only once a day and had to sleep on the floor wrapping himself in newspapers for warmth. Bandazhevsky states that this treatment was aimed at making him plead guilty. As a result, Bandazhevsky lost about 20 kg weight and was hospitalized with stomach ulcers, hypertension, and depression.
The arrest came soon after Bandazhevsky had published the results of his research into the effects of radio-active fall-out from Chernobyl and is widely believed to be in retaliation for Bandazhevsky's open criticism of the Belarus government's response to the impact that Chernobyl has had on public health, specifically the research methodology of the Belarus Ministry of Health's Clinical Research Institution for Radiation Medicine. In an interview in 2000, as he was free awaiting trial, he explained to a journalist that "the consequences can be tragic. This is why rigorous control of the presence of radioactive cesium in foodstuffs is essential. This especially concerns children, who are more sensitive to radioactive cesium. This worries me hugely, because the mortality of the population in the province of Gomel exceeds the birthrate by 1.6 times."
While free on trial, Bandazhevsky made an unsuccessful attempt to flee the country, apparently fearing further humiliation and imprisonment solely for his criticism. This attempt, however, only made things worse adding charges of falsifying documents in order to escape trial.
Bandazhevsky's trial opened in December 1999 and, according to Bandazhevsky's lawyer, Garry Pogoniailo, was conducted with numerous breaches of the Belarusian Criminal Procedural Law. In addition, Amnesty International and local human rights groups pointed to a number of violations of international standards safeguarding fair trial. As a result, in June 2001, Bandazhevsky was sentenced to eight years in prison. The sentence was reduced to five years and will expire in January 2006. Bandazhevsky protests the charges, calling the sentence illegal and ungrounded and is seeking its reversal.
Bandazhevsky's lawyers have launched a complaint against the verdict to the Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders to the United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights, and the Commission has raised the case with the Belarus government. In an interview to the Charter'97 human rights' organization, Pogoniailo said, "We have exhausted all national mechanisms of protecting his [Bandazhevsky's] rights. Regretfully, they didn't produce any positive result and now we are using international mechanisms."Now aged 47, Bandazhevsky is serving his term in the Uzh-15/1 Penal Colony (Kalvarijskaya, 36, Minsk 220600, Belarus). According to the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Bandazhevsky's health has deteriorated, his poor physical condition being exacerbated by stress. He has a separate cell, and was provided with a computer enabling him to continue working on his scientific research. But unfortunately the computer broke down, so Bandazhevsky can no longer continue working on his research.
Bandazhevsky has published over 200 scientific papers and articles. After being released from pre-trial detention Bandazhevsky completed further scientific works including a book published in June 2000 on the impact of radiotope caesium-37 on the population living in the contaminated areas. It was reported in January 2002 that he had prepared two scientific books while in prison to be published abroad.
Bandazhevsky's wife, Galina Bandazhevskaya, herself a professor of medicine, had to leave her job in the Gomel Medical University in 2002 so as to move to Minsk to be closer to her husband and relatives. They have two children, the youngest is still at school. The eldest has followed in her parents' footsteps and is practicing as a physician in Gomel.
The family is occasionally given permission to meet Bandazhevsky in prison. They say he does his best to encourage the family. "Our father tells us to cheer up and believe in the best: everything will be fine, he says, and truth will win out. However, I see how hard it is for him to serve his prison term," his elder daughter says.
International PEN shares widespread concerns that Professor Bandazhevsky is held for his scientific research on the effects of the effects of radio-active fall-out from the Chernobyl disaster on the local populace, and specifically for his open criticism of the Belarus government's response to the impact that Chernobyl has had on public health. It shares concerns about the fairness of the sentence. PEN is calling for the review of Professor Bandazhevsky's case and calls for his immediate release pending the result of such review.
Please contact ftw@pen.org if you have any questions.