Eastern Europe

Belarus passed an HIV-specific law in 1999 that criminalises any unprotected sex by an HIV-positive individual, even with a partner who consents, knowing that the person has HIV. Unprotected sex that does not result in HIV transmission is punishable by up to two years in prison. A seven-year prison sentence is imposed if the sex does result in HIV transmission to one adult; if more than one adult has been infected or if the victim is a minor, this is increased to a 13-year sentence. There has been at least one conviction under this law.

A 2005 ruling by the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic¹ confirmed that any unprotected sex (including oral sex) by a person living with HIV is contrary to Section 189 of the Criminal Code: “spread of infectious diseases”. Unprotected anal sex is additionally considered to be “attempted bodily injury” (Section 222). No defence can be claimed for obtaining a partner’s consent following disclosure of one’s HIV-positive status. There have been three prosecutions since 1988, all for HIV exposure. All of the accused were gay men. Sentences ranged from five months to three-and-a-half years.²

Georgia enacted HIV-specific laws in 1995, then in 2000 approved an amendment that allows for prosecution of both HIV exposure and transmission in the absence of disclosure (relevant sections of the law can be found at the Global Criminalisation Scan). People aware they are HIV-positive also have a duty to disclose their HIV status to healthcare workers and when in “public service establishments”. There have been at least two prosecutions resulting in convictions.

Since 1994, Hungary has prosecuted at least four men living with HIV for negligent or intentional HIV transmission under Sections 4 and 6 of Article 170 of the Criminal Code (“causing bodily harm”). The maximum penalty is five years in prison. Three of the prosecutions resulted in charges being dropped and/or acquittals: there is no information regarding the outcome of the fourth prosecution.

The Republic of Moldova updated its HIV-specific law in 2007 to specify under Article 30, ‘Crime of wilful transmission of HIV’, that "criminal sanctions for the transmission of HIV may be imposed according to Article 212 of the Criminal Code " only if the following elements are met: foreseeability – the accused knew, or had reason to believe, that he/she is HIV-positive, and that his/her conduct is likely to infect the victim; intent – either direct or indirect; causality – the victim has been infected subsequent to the conduct of the accused; and consent – the victim’s consent to unprotected sexual intercourse with the accused with the knowledge of the latter’s HIV status shall constitute valid defence for the accused. There are no reports of prosecutions.

Poland passed a law (Article 161 of the Criminal Code) criminalising both HIV exposure and transmission in 1997, with violations for either punishable by a maximum three-year prison sentence. The law was first used in 2007, in a high-profile case involving a Cameroonian refugee who was a poet and human rights activist. The man was accused of infecting “up to 40 women” by having unprotected sex with them without disclosing his HIV status.³ He died while his trial was underway, in October 2008.⁴

Paragraph 2 Article 309 introduced to the Romanian Penal Code in November 1996 criminalises HIV transmission "by a person who knows him/herself to suffer from this disease". It is punishable by imprisonment for five to fifteen years. Neither disclosure nor condom use are available as affirmative defences. The penalty for transmitting any other sexually transmitted infection under similar circumstances is imprisonment for between six months and three years Paragraph 3 allows for court-ordered mandatory treatment.⁵ It is estimated that five people – most of whom are women – have been prosecuted under this law, although the number of convictions is unclear.

The Russian Federation passed an HIV-specific law in 1996 that criminalises both HIV exposure and transmission. Informed consent of the risk following disclosure of an individual’s HIV-positive status is an affirmative defence. The maximum sentence for “deliberately putting another person at risk of HIV infection” is freedom limitation for up to three years, or imprisonment for up to one year. The maximum sentence for “HIV infection of a person by a person aware they are HIV-infected” is five years in prison. There are no data on the number of prosecutions or convictions.

Slovakia’s first prosecution took place in 1999 under general criminal law, although no details of the case are available. In 2006, an HIV-specific law was introduced as a component of the country’s new Penal Code. Negligent and intentional HIV exposure and transmission are both subject to prosecution, with a maximum sentence of ten years in prison for “any person who intentionally places another person in danger of infection of human immunodeficiency virus.” The sentence can be increased to 15 years if "serious bodily harm" or death ensues. There are no reports of prosecutions under this law.

Ukraine introduced HIV-specific laws in 1998 mandating disclosure of HIV-positive status prior to any activity that may risk infection. Newly diagnosed individuals must also undergo a period of mandatory hospitalisation during which it is expected that they will sign an undertaking to obey this law. The reckless or intentional “conscious exposing to danger of infection [HIV exposure], or infection [HIV transmission]” is subject to prosecution, with a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment.

There have been at least six prosecutions and four convictions under these laws. A civil society initiative highlighting the unreliability of scientific evidence (see the chapter: Proof, What phylogenetic analysis reveals) for determining the source of a person’s HIV infection has recently deterred the State from initiating several more prosecutions.⁶