The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

The office of Marek Migalski, Member of the European Parliament, is starting the website www.freekavalenka.org, as part of a campaign initiated by "Libereco - Partnership for Human Rights".

Minsk resident Sviatlana Viarheichyk, who was beaten by the police in a “silent protest” in summer 2011, says her complaint has not been properly considered by Minsk Kastrychnitski District Prosecutor’s Office.

May did not bring any positive changes in the human rights situation in general and the situation of political prisoners in particular. On 24 May, while listening to a report by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Siarhei Martynau, Aliaksandr Lukashenka explicitly stated he had no intention to change his position on political prisoners: "Lately, I have been hearing more and more statements that European diplomats here are waiting for some kind of amnesty, starting talks about political prisoners, and so on. I just want to publicly say that I will not return to this subject (...) We are waiting for concrete steps from the West, the European Union. The ball is on their side. It is my firm conviction. That’s why I am not going to wait for this play on old instruments by old notes again."

The confiscation of a number of copies of the Nash Dom independent newsletter on 20 May was legal, says a reply from Orsha Department of Internal Affairs.

Belarusian mass media remain too conservative in covering LGBT-related issues, says a recent report by an information group that has conducted a monitoring of the country’s media over the past year.