E/CN.4/2005/61/Add.1 Page 13 46. In 2003, a number of meetings were held between officials of the Grodno city and oblast executive committees and the leaders of all Jewish cultural and religious communities active in Grodno. During the meetings, the fate of the human remains found during the reconstruction of the sports complex was discussed. In accordance with the wishes of the Jewish organizations, it was agreed that the soil would not be removed or transported outside the confines of the sports complex. An agreement of 18 August 2003 thus regulated the work being carried out on the site of the former Jewish cemetery in Grodno. A number of meetings were also held with representatives of the international Jewish organization Atra Kadisha and led to the signature of protocols on 22 October and 6 November 2003. 47. Municipal services reburied, in the territory of the active Jewish cemetery on Krasnopartizanskaya Street in Grodno, the human remains discovered in the mounds of earth formed during the reconstruction of Neman stadium. Also with the participation of representatives of Jewish organizations, the soil that had previously been transported from the construction site to Novaya Street in Grodno was placed in the territory of the active Jewish cemetery. All reconstruction work was carried out in accordance with the agreements and protocols signed with representatives of Jewish organizations. 48. On 27 October 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a communication to the Government of Belarus in relation to information received according to which, on 16 July 2004, a district court in the Gomel region ordered the police to confiscate a 1988 Volkswagen car owned by Vasili Bilas, a Baptist resident of Mozyr. On 6 July 2004, the Lenin District Court in Brest instructed the accountant at the workplace of fellow Baptist Leonid Martynovich to deduct one fifth of his salary every month, while court bailiffs threatened to remove valuables from the home of Nikolai Krynts, another Baptist. According to the information received, on 17 April 2004, the three Baptists conveyed Easter greetings, sang hymns and distributed New Testaments to patients and visitors at the Mozyr hospital. Although they had previously informed the hospital administration of their visit, a staff member reportedly called the police. The group was then arrested and detained for questioning at a local police station and then brought before the Mozyr city court. The court reportedly sentenced them to pay fines of 20 times the minimum wage, or 380,000 Belarusian roubles. After they refused to comply with the court’s decision, local courts reportedly ruled to confiscate personal property from Mr. Bilas and Mr. Krynts and to make a deduction from Mr. Martynovich’s salary. 49. By letter of 16 December 2004, the Government responded that in accordance with article 25 of the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations Act, religious rites, rituals and ceremonies in health-care institutions are conducted at the request of citizens in such institutions and on premises that the administration specially designates for that purpose. Persons in such institutions may possess, receive, obtain and use religious literature and articles, if this does not have any ill effects on their health and does not infringe the rights and legitimate interests of other persons. Moreover, in accordance with article 25 of the aforementioned Act, religious services, rites, rituals and ceremonies, as well as other mass activities whose main purpose is to satisfy religious needs, may be held only after the relevant decision has been taken by the director or deputy director of the local executive and administrative body in accordance with Belarusian law.

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