Open letter to Mr. Fredy Egli, President of the Swiss Ice Hockey Association

Stockholm, April 30, 2009

Dear Mr. Egli,
According to information from the Belarus Ice Hockey Association (BIHA), the BIHA president, Mr. Uladzimir Navumau, plans to visit the ongoing World Championships in Switzerland. Mr. Navumau is supposed to go to Bern on May 7-9 in order to take part in a ceremony where the location of the 2014 World Championships will be decided. Belarus is one of the countries participating in this contest.

We would like to remind you that Mr. Navumau is accused of serious human rights crimes in Belarus. In particular Mr. Navumau is suspected of being involved in the disappearances of three oppositional politicians and a journalist in 1999-2000. The bodies of the disappeared have not been found and there is therefore strong reason to believe that they have been murdered.

The suspicions against Mr. Navumau have led the European Union to issue a travel ban on him. Thus, he is not allowed to enter member states of the EU.

Although Switzerland is not a member of the EU, the Swiss government has declared that it supports the EU decision regarding sanctions directed at Belarusian human rights violators. (For more information on bilateral relations between Swiss and Belarus, see http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/reps/eur/vblr/bilblr.html). As a consequence, Mr. Navumau should not be granted a visa to Switzerland.

In our view, the international sports community has a moral responsibility to pay attention to the issue of human rights. We therefore kindly ask you not to invite Mr. Navumau to the World Championships and the ceremony in Bern.

With best regards, and wishes for a successful World Championships arrangement,

Martin Uggla
Chairperson, Swedish Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights - Östgruppen

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