The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

24.03.2015 EU flags seized from Brest activist on border

Brest resident Andrei Sharenda was detained on the Belarusian-Polish border last night.

24.03.2015 Yury Rubtsou seeks to recover moral damages from judge Palulekh

An appeal of political prisoner Yury Rubtsou against a refusal of Minsk’s Leninski District Court to hear his suit to recover moral damages from Judge Kiryl Palulekh has been appointed for March 26. The decision was announced on March 6 by Judge Veranika Abramovich. The verdict referred to a lack of jurisdiction.

24.03.2015 Complaint to Prosecutor General is last hope of former candidate

Opposition activist Valery Karankevich, a former candidate for the Mahiliou Regional Council of Deputies, filed on March 21 a complaint to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus.

24.03.2015 Ales Bialiatski: Open letter by political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok reveals the terrible truth

The head of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" commented on his Facebook public page on the appeal published today by political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok.

24.03.2015 Mikalai Dziadok: "I want to be the last convict under Article 411 of the Criminal Code"

The Human Rights Center "Viasna" published an open letter by political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok, who draws attention to the gross violations of the rights of those held in prisons, disadvantages and throw-backs of correctional institutions, as well as unfair punishment under Article 411 of the Criminal Code.

24.03.2015 Amnesty International: Year's first death sentence in Belarus

A 21-year-old man, Siarhei Ivanou, has been sentenced to death in Belarus. He is the first person sentenced to death in the country this year.

23.03.2015 Prosecutor’s Office orders to investigate threats to human rights activist and his children

Today, March 23, human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka was interviewed by a police inspector of the Chyhunachny district police department of Homel Andrei Padsasonny. He learned that the City Prosecutor’s Office had quashed a decision not to open a criminal investigation into the threats to the human rights defenders and his children and demanded that the police took all measures possible to identify the IP-address of those who disseminated the information.

23.03.2015 Biaroza officials ban Freedom Day picket

The organizers of a picket scheduled for March 25, Freedom Day, have received a ban from the executive committee. The answer is signed by the deputy chairman of the executive committee Yauhen Tarasiuk.

23.03.2015 Baranavichy activist learns about conviction 3 months after trial

Aliaksandr Vaitseshyk, lawyer of the independent trade union of radio electronic industry, has received a response from the Niasvizh Prosecutor’s Office saying that he was fined 3 basic units back on January 12. The activist says that he knew nothing about the court ruling.

22.03.2015 Brest Regional Court turns down appeal by human rights activist Siarhei Housha

Judge Nina Ustsimchuk of the Brest Regional Court said in her ruling that there were no grounds for cancellation of the decision of the court of the city of Baranavichy and Baranavichy district, which upheld the city authorities’ ban on a picket dedicated to the International Human Rights Day.

22.03.2015 Opposition activist in Mahiliou sends complaints to prosecutor over PC seizure

Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party and journalist Ihar Barysau has sent a complaint to the prosecutor about the seizure of computers that were taken by the police on March 12.

22.03.2015 Pavel Sapelka: Vigilance must have legal framework, otherwise it will turn into witch-hunt

Over the last month, in different places of Belarus – Minsk, Hlybokaye, Iuye – there have been a few cases where police officers detained people who photographed office buildings: journalists and ordinary passers-by. At the same time, law enforcement officers referred to a recent decision of the Minister of the Interior, which prohibited photographing a number of public and administrative offices (http://news.tut.by/society/438550.html), and the perpetrators may be held to determine their identity and other circumstances. Lawyer Pavel Sapelka comments on this ruling in the context of current legislation.

20.03.2015 EU Criticizes Belarus Over Death Sentence

The European Union has sharply criticized Belarus, the only European country that applies capital punishment, for sentencing a man to death.

20.03.2015 Martin Uggla: No place for Lukashenka in Riga

The EU should not turn a blind eye to human rights violations in Belarus.

20.03.2015 Issue of criminalization of torture is much wider than it is seen by the Belarusian lawmaker

Comments on the National Report to the Universal Periodic Review (second cycle) prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. Issues that had previously been studied during the monitoring of places of detention, which was carried out by the HRC "Viasna" are touched upon in the report.