E/CN.4/2005/6/Add.3 page 17 57. The Working Group was informed that serious crimes (terrorism, organized crime, trafficking of drugs, arms and persons, etc.) and matters affecting politicians are usually entrusted to the KGB, whose agents are required to act under the supervision of the Prosecutor. The Working Group has noticed that in practice no authority of all those involved in the criminal proceeding whether the Ministry of the Interior, prosecutors or judges, exercises any control over the situation of persons held in detention centres of the KGB. The Working Group stresses that for those detainees, the risk of abuse is high and remedies are only hypothetical. D. Detention as a means to repress freedom of expression 58. The Working Group received extensive information concerning cases of persons who, exercising their right to assembly, demonstration, freedom of opinion and expression or disseminating information in a peaceful manner, were arrested and detained for short periods and charged with administrative offences. Its attention was also drawn to cases of persons who, exercising these rights, were charged with criminal offences and convicted to longer periods of deprivation of liberty. 59. Offences described as “libel against the President of the Republic”, “insult to the President” and “libel against an official” in articles 367, 368 and 369 of the Penal Code are defined in wide and imprecise terms and leave room for the criminalization of conduct protected by international law. At least three journalists were convicted in 2001 and 2002 on criminal charges for having allegedly slandered the President of the Republic. 60. The Working Group met with Ms. Oksana Novikova, a pregnant 32-year-old woman. She was found guilty of libel against the President, but benefited from an amnesty in February 2004. On 5 April 2004, she was again arrested after distributing leaflets against the President in a metro station in Minsk. On 9 June, a judge sentenced her to two and a half years forced labour. The Working Group was informed that the sentence will be applied once the baby is born. E. Serious concerns raised by administrative detention 61. The Working Group has noticed that homeless persons, illegal immigrants and undocumented persons are routinely arrested and can be held in administrative detention centres or in police stations for up to 30 days. Allegations were received that administrative detention is also being used in certain cases to obtain information from witnesses in pending cases or from persons who may be charged at a later stage. The Working Group is concerned that information thus obtained could be used against the persons when investigators open a case. 62. This reportedly happened to Mr. Valery Levonevsky, a trade-union activist and leader of the National Committee of Belarus, whom the Working Group met at the Grodno Pre-Trial Detention Centre. According to the information gathered, Mr. Levonevsky was arrested on 1 May 2004 on the occasion of the rally of the Day of Workers and was held for 15 days in administrative detention because he had planned to distribute leaflets. On 15 May, he was formally charged with insulting the President of the Republic, an offence according to article 368, part II, of the Criminal Code, and was later sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. According to Mr. Levonevsky, he was arrested and charged in order to prevent him from running in the next parliamentary elections.