The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

10.10.2014 Ales Bialiatski: I am totally for Malala and Satyarthi

Human rights activist Ales Bialiatski commented to RFE/RL on the results of the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to 17-year-old Pakistani girl Malala Yusufzai and Indian advocate of children's rights Kailash Satyarthi.

10.10.2014 Who Needs Death Penalty?

On October 9, on the eve of the World Day against the Death Penalty, the presentation of a book by Valery Filipau “Who Needs the Death Penalty” was held at the office of the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

10.10.2014 Mozyr: Uladzimir Tseliapun asks the prosecutor's office to assess the legality of a court verdict

October 9, Mozyr activist Uladzimir Tseliapun appealed to the Mozyr Inter-District Prosecutor's Office asking to assess the legality and validity of the judgment on his complaint. The reason for the appeal was the doubt that the judgment issued by the Mozyr District Court was competent, fair and impartial.

10.10.2014 Brest: just one member of Brest City Council reported to electors

Participants of the civil initiative "Social Office" consider it as a positive development. After their appeals to members of councils, one of them, representative of the electoral constituency No. 34 Aliaksandr Shokau, reported to his electors through the newspaper “Brestski Vesnik”.

10.10.2014 Krychau: head of ideological department sues “Volny Horad” newspaper

Head of the ideological department of the Krychau District Executive Committee Maryna Maksimava has filed a claim for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation and compensation for moral damages to the Krychau District Court.

10.10.2014 Baranavichy human rights defenders continue drawing public attention to the problem of the death penalty

October 9, Baranavichy human rights defenders and social activists continued their participation in the week against the death penalty. Human rights activist Siarhei Housha noted that the Baranavičy City Executive Committee traditionally did not allow for social and political actions, including those devoted to the International Day against the Death Penalty and International Human Rights Day.

10.10.2014 Barysau: Belarusian and Ukrainian football fans sentenced to fines and arrest

As RFE/RL learned at the Police Bureau of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee, 41 people were taken to the Barysau District Police Department after the football match between the national teams of Belarus and Ukraine in the evening of October 9.

09.10.2014 Karel Schwarzenberg: “I can't understand those who, having lived up to the 21st century, advocate the death penalty”

October 8, well-known Czech politician and public figure Karel Schwarzenberg took part in human rights activities together with representatives of the European embassies, members of the Working Group on the Death Penalty in Belarus.

09.10.2014 Court sides with police in Mikalai Charnavus' case

October 8, the Baranavichy City and District Court considered a claim of the entrepreneur Mikalai Charnavus on protection of honor and dignity against actionsof the deputy head of the Baranavichy City PoliceDepartment Eldar Vilchkouski. The court session was led by Judge Volha Apanovich with the assistance of the court clerk Krystsina Hladkikh.

09.10.2014 Pavel Vinahradau sentenced to 15 days of arrest again

The leader of the youth wing of “Tell the Truth”, “Zmena” was sentenced to the arrest term for alleged disorderly conduct in the building of the Maskouski District Police Department of Minsk on October 8.

09.10.2014 “Capital Punishment” visited by the mother of a death row prisoner

A resident of Vialeika Tamara Sialiun, whose son Pavel was executed on a verdict of the Hrodna Regional Court in April 2014, visited the photo exhibition of the journalist Siarhei Balai “Capital Punishment”. The heroines of this photo project are Sviatlana Zhuk, Liubou Kavaliova, Tamara Sialiun, Volha Hrunova and Tamara Chikunova – the mothers, whose children's lives were taken by the state under the guise of anti-human law.

09.10.2014 Football fans harassed on the eve of match with Ukraine

On October 9, Barysau will host a match between the national football teams of Ukraine and Belarus. Meanwhile, the police have reportedly started haunting football fans, some of whom have been sentenced to administrative arrests for "swearing in public".

09.10.2014 Political prisoner Vaskovich to be transferred to penal colony soon

Yauhen Vaskovich, who is serving a seven-year prison term for hooligan actions towards the building of the Babruisk KGB office, will be transferred from the cell-type prison No.4 to the penal colony No. 15 due to the expiry of the three-year term of keeping in the high-security prison. Both corrective institutions are situated in Mahiliou.

09.10.2014 Brest: activists of independent trade union remind about labour rights

Members of the Trade Union of Radio Electronic Industry went out to the streets of Brest and handed out several hundreds of leaflets. According to the deputy head of the national TUREI organization, Zinaida Mikhniuk, the action was dated to the International Day for Decent Work and aims to expand the circle of people who are struggling for their rights.

09.10.2014 Human rights activist Tamara Chikunova in Homel: “Our indifference means consent to legalized murder”

On October 8, Homel human rights activists held a meeting within the framework of the Week Against the Death Penalty, which was attended by mothersof those sentenced to death: the founder of the public association "Mothers against the Death Penalty and Torture" (Uzbekistan) Tamara Chikunova, Vileika resident Tamara Sialiun and Homel resident Volha Hrunova. Pavel Sialiun has been executed, Aliaksandr Hrunou is on death row now.