The recent Resolution № 577 of September 2 has increased some of the fees required from organisers of public assemblies. The 2018 amendments to the Law on Mass Events led to the introduction of fixed fees for obligatory services relating to public assemblies. These services include the payment for policing during mass events meant to protect the public order, as well as medical services and city cleaning services.
Since April 2020, organisers must enter in contracts and pay for such services prior to submitting a request for permission to hold an assembly. The fees have become a significant obstacle in holding peaceful assemblies, as organisers cannot afford to pay large sums of money in order to exercise their rights. Even the submission of a request to hold an assembly becomes almost impossible, as it depends on the prior consent of the internal affairs authority.
In September 2023, the government has further reviewed the fees for policing services and increased the fee for mass events with more than 5,000 participants. While the precise amount to be paid by organisers depends on the number of participants, the Resolution has also more than tripled the fee for gatherings of up to 10 people and introduced ascending fees for larger gatherings of more than 1,000 people. The fee for police services during events with 11-5,000 participants has not changed. The Resolution № 577 of September 2 further clarifies that the fees apply for each day of the event separately, requiring additional payments for multi-day events.
The updated fee to be paid by organisers of mass events for policing services now follows this scale, based on the number of participants:
- up to 10 people – 10 basic units (370 rubles/€135),
- from 11 to 100 people – 25 basic units (925 rubles/€337),
- from 101 to 1000 people – 150 basic units (5,550/€2,021),
- from 1001 to 5000 people – 250 basic units (9,250/ €3,368),
- from 5001 to 10 000 people – 500 basic units (18,500/€6,735),
- more than 10 000 people – 600 basic units (22,200/€8,082) + 100 basic values (3700/€1,347) for every additional 10 thousand people.
This means for example that organisers of a rally of 1,500 people will first have to have a contract requiring them to pay 3,360 euros to the law enforcement. Only then can they submit a request for permission of the rally to the local authorities, with no guarantee this will be granted. This is in addition to similar contracts signed in advance with medical and city cleaning services.
The legal obligation to conclude contracts with state agencies and pay for policing services to safeguard an assembly, as well as ambulance and cleaning services, acts de facto as a serious obstacle for freedom of assembly in Belarus. The CSO Meter’s reports on Belarus consistently recommend abolishing these provisions, as they violate international standards and infringe on people’s fundamental right to organise peaceful assemblies and protests.