The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for March 2014

23.03.2014 Independent journalist questioned at Brest Prosecutor's Office

Independent journalist Yauhen Skrabets was interviewed in the Brest City Prosecutor’s Office, Radio Racyja said. As told by the journalist, prosecutors inquired about his work with the Belarusian Radio Racyja:

23.03.2014 Journalist denied accreditation at polling station in Brest

As reported by Inna Khomich, from the start of early voting she worked as an observer at a polling station located in Brest School No. 2. When the observer was not allowed to photograph a voting protocol (which is a violation of law), she showed the Election Commission members her ID of a correspondent of the Brestski Kurier newspaper and said she would stay at the polling station, including as a journalist.

23.03.2014 March 25 rally in Biaroza banned over inciting national hatred

Biaroza human rights defenders Tamara Shchapiotkina and Siarhei Rusetski, who were going to hold a picket on March 25, Freedom Day, had little time to get ready for the event, which was initially allowed by the local executive committee.

23.03.2014 Observer removed from polling station in Haradok

Activist of the movement "For Freedom" Leanid Haravy was forced to leave the polling station in the town of Haradok, Vitsebsk region. On March 22, he was shown a protocol of the election commissions’ meeting, saying that he was deprived of accreditation for gross violations of the electoral law.

23.03.2014 Baranavichy court refuses to consider candidate’s complaint

On March 21, Judge Zhanna Kapacheuskaya of the Baranavichy District and City considered an urgent complaint by candidate Mikalai Charnavus against unlawful actions by the Chairperson of the Election Commission in constituency No. 21 Larysa Antonava.

22.03.2014 Monitoring Report on the stage of election campaigning

Monitoring of the elections to the Local Councils of Deputies of the Republic of Belarus of the 27th Convocation is conducted by activists of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center "Viasna" within the frames of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections".

21.03.2014 Human Rights House Network: States should support human rights defenders

In March 2013, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the protection of human rights defenders. It establishes principles and standards for States to create an enabling environment for human rights defenders. One year after its adoption, the Human Rights House Network calls upon States to implement this resolution.

21.03.2014 Third day of early voting: turnout discrepancies growing

On March 20, the third day of early voting in the local council elections, observers of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections" registered a number of violations: the most common of which is a significant overstatement of voter turnout as compared to observers’ estimations.

21.03.2014 Another BCD observer stripped of accreditation

Andrei Dabravolski, an activist of the organizing committee of the party "Belarusian Christian Democracy", has been deprived of an observer’s accreditation in Minsk polling station No. 52 of constituency No. 20, BCD’s press-service reports. The activist has been involved in the campaign "Right to Choice".

21.03.2014 Election officials order to destroy BPF candidate’s leaflets

A BPF candidate Illia Dabratvor has received a decision from Minsk’s Zavodskaya District Election Commission issuing a warning, after the election officials saw signs of incitement to ethnic hatred between Russians and Belarusians in the candidate’s election leaflets. The back side of the leaflets had information about political prisoners, which was viewed as slandering officials.

21.03.2014 Baranavichy court fines anti-war protester

On March 21, the Baranavichy District and City Court considered the administrative case of Uladzimir Hundar, who organized a picket on March 4 in the center of Baranavichy to protest against the war between Russia and Ukraine. The case was heard by Judge Stanislau Pivavar.

21.03.2014 Relatives of death convict Uladzislau Kavaliou ask Supreme Court to declassify place of burial

Mother and sister of Uladzislau Kavaliou executed on charges of organizing a terrorist attack in the Minsk metro in 2011 have sent a supervisory appeal to the Chairman of the Supreme Court. They ask to cancel the decision of the Court of Minsk’s Kastrychnitski district and the Board of Civil Affairs of the City Court. Both courts refused to institute civil proceedings against the KGB, the Interior Ministry and the Department of Corrections over their refusal to provide information about the burial place of their son.

21.03.2014 CEC: results of vote count should be separated by type of voting

The results of counting of votes for each type of voting should be announced separately, says a response received by Biaroza observers from Chairperson of the Central Election Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna.

21.03.2014 Astravets court refuses to restore registration of only independent candidate

Elections in Astravets district will be absolutely uncompetitive, after the District Court dismissed the complaint by local civil society activist Mikalai Ulasevich, the last pro-democratic candidate running in the region.

21.03.2014 Candidate in Baranavichy complains about ban on radio speech

A candidate in Baranavichy, Mikalai Charnavus sent an urgent appeal to the court to challenge unlawful actions by the Chairperson of the Election Commission in constituency No. 21 Larysa Antonava. In his complaint, the candidate says that he is at a disadvantage with other candidates, as he has prepared a speech on the radio, but the Election Commission has done everything to block his appearance.