The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

23.12.2014 Disabled activist fined for holding a picket in defense of rights of people with disabilities in Svetlahorsk

On December 22, the Court of Svetlahorsk district considered the administrative charges brought against Yury Liashenka, a wheelchair user of Homel, who tried to stage a picket in front of the executive committee on November 25, but was prevented by an ambulance car, which took him to hospital.

23.12.2014 UN Human Rights Committee considers case of Aliaksandr Kazulin

The United Nations Human Rights Committee at its October session examined the case of ex-presidential candidate Aliaksandr Kazulin and found violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, says human rights activist Raman Kisliak, Radio Racyja reports.

23.12.2014 Prosecutor’s office rejects complaint against degrading conditions of detention in Salihorsk

At the request of Uladzimir Lemesh, an activist of the European Belarus opposition movement, the Salihorsk District Prosecutor’s Office has checked the conditions of detention in the city’s police department. As a result of the probe, prosecuting authorities identified certain violations of regulations for special institutions of the Interior, says a response by the supervisory authority.

23.12.2014 BAJ: Statement on the Massive Blocking of Websites

Since December 19, several informational Internet resources in Belarus have been subject to blocking. Most of them remain inaccessible from the territory of the country until now. In particular, users’ access to belapan.com and belapan.by, naviny.by, belaruspartisan.org, charter97.org, udf.by, 21.by, gazetaby.com, zautra.by have been restricted without explanations.

23.12.2014 Belapan and naviny.by resume work despite blockage

BelaPAN news agency has not received any official warning regarding the blockage and says there are no legal grounds to block the websites.

23.12.2014 Brest resident fined for poster “Russian army, go home”

Aliaksandr Akhmach was fined 1.5 million Belarusian rubles.

22.12.2014 Activist Dzmitry Paloika banned to leave Belarus

Activist Dzmitry Paloika has been released after serving ten days in jail. He was convicted by the Baranavichy Court of disorderly conduct under Art. 17.1 of the Administrative on December 21.

22.12.2014 Relatives visit political prisoner Yauhen Vaskovich

Political prisoner Yauhen Vaskovich has been visited by his mother and grandmother. The meeting lasted two hours, according to the press-service of the Belarusian Christian Democracy.

22.12.2014 Yury Rubtsou leaves Minsk to serve sentence

Opposition activist Yury Rubtsou, who was convicted of insulting the judge, will serve his sentence in open-type correctional facility No. 7 in the village of Kuplin, Pruzhany district. The activist wrote about his in his Facebook account. He is currently being registered with the administration of the penal facility.

22.12.2014 BelaPAN: Blocking IP-addresses is attack on freedom of speech

The BelaPAN information company has released a statement after the IP-addresses of the websites belapan.by, belapan.com and naviny.by were blocked on December 20.

22.12.2014 Minsk court fines film director for resisting arrest

On December 20, the Court of Minsk’s Maskouski district considered the administrative charges brought against film director Volha Mikalaichyk, who was accused of disobeying police officers.

22.12.2014 Independent Belarusian News Websites Blocked

Several independent news websites have been blocked in the former Soviet republic of Belarus, where the government exerts close control of news media.

22.12.2014 Court orders to collect money from independent media in Horki

On December 18, after a long break the Horki District Court continued hearing the lawsuit by head of local office of the Belarusian Society of the Disabled Tamara Kaltunova against the BelaPAN news agency and the private enterprise UzHorak, which publishes the newspaper of the same name.

19.12.2014 Eduard Lobau: I have to look around and decide what to do next

The Minsk office of the Belarusian Popular front hosted today the first press conference of former political prisoner Eduard Lobau, who was released yesterday after serving four years of imprisonment in penal colony No. 22 in Ivatsevichy.

19.12.2014 Investigative nonsense: Shoes taken off barefooted body

The recent decision on the results of another probe in connection with the death of Aliaksandr Akulich in Svetlahorsk detention center demonstrates unacceptable negligence of investigator Viachaslau Petachenka.