The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

27.06.2013 Three arrested journalists released, Shumchanka remaining in custody

The three journalists who were arrested by police in Minsk on Thursday have been released, while Anatol Shumchanka, leader of a small business association called Perspektyva, remains in custody.

27.06.2013 Witness in Haidukou case faces dismissal

Illia Bahdanau has been warned that June 27 will be the last of his working day, the Nasha Niva newspaper reports.

27.06.2013 Journalists detained in entrepreneurs’ strike in Minsk

Minsk police detained several journalists during a strike staged by entrepreneurs to protest against new regulations of the Customs Union.

27.06.2013 Verdict in Haidukou trial expected on 1 July

The case is being heard behind closed doors, therefore it is yet unknown whether the charges have been changed and what prison term the prosecutor demanded for Andrei Haidukou.

27.06.2013 Belarus will be again mentioned in a special paragraph of the ILO documents as a country fraudulently violating workers’ and trade union rights

Today, on June 13 the Labor Standards Committee of the International Labor Organization (ILO) has taken a decision that Belarus is to be mentioned in a special paragraph of the Report of the ILO Standards Committee – the so called “ILO blacklist”. This information has been reported by BKDP leader Alexander Yaroshuk attending the 102-nd Session of the International Labor Conference cuirrently taking place in Geneva from 5 till 20 of June.

27.06.2013 Belarusian sole traders on strike protesting against Customs Union

Belarusian sole traders have a national strike today. A decision to hold the strike was taken by the Forum of Sole Traders devoted to the entry into force of the technical regulations of the Customs Union “On safety of light industry”. The event took place in Minsk on June 24.

26.06.2013 Slonim: BCD member summoned to Prosecutor’s Office over Freedom Day rally

Slonim police and prosecuting authorities are still seeking to interrogate activists of local pro-democratic forces who celebrated Freedom Day on March 25. The head of the Slonim office of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Ivan Bedka received a summons signed by Slonim District Prosecutor, Senior Counsellor of Justice Anatol Yaulash, urging him to appear at the Prosecutor’s Office on June 24 “in connection with the fact of the unauthorized mass event dedicated to the anniversary of the Belarus People’s Republic.”

26.06.2013 Rahachou activist questioned by police over publication on independent website

Dzianis Dashkevich, pro-democratic activist from the town of Rahachou, had to provide explanations to local policemen over a publication on the independent website vrogacheve.ru.

26.06.2013 Vitsebsk court to hear appeals of 3 picket bans

Three applications for pickets – three bans. This is how one can briefly describe the history of the recent communication of Vitsebsk resident Viktar Zharkou with the district administrations. Now Viktar Zharkou has filed complaints with the courts of all the three districts of Vitsebsk against officials who deprived him of the opportunity to inform people about the violation of his rights by the police.

26.06.2013 Deputy Prosecutor General Stuk refuses to say whether charge of high treason against Haydukow has been or will be changed to another one

Deputy Prosecutor General Alyaksey Stuk refused to tell reporters in Minsk on Tuesday whether the charge of high treason against young opposition activist Andrey Haydukow had been or would be changed to another one.

26.06.2013 Private Newspaper Returns to State Distribution System after 8 Years Exclusion

Since June 1, 2013 the regional non-state newspaper Borisovskiye Novosti has been available for subscription in Belposhta in Minsk region.

25.06.2013 Eduard Lobau: Summer began, but prison diet lacks fruits and vegetables

Young Front activist Eduard Lobau who serves his sentence in a penal colony, was visited by his mother – Maryna Lobava.

25.06.2013 Two Belarusian MPs to discuss death penalty issue during meeting of PACE’s committee in Strasbourg

Two members of the House of Representatives will participate in a meeting of PACE’s Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy that will take place in Strasbourg on Thursday and deal with the issue of the abolition of the death penalty in Belarus, among others.

25.06.2013 Trade union activist faces groundless dismissal

Dzmitry Luchyts, nurse man and anesthesiologist at the intensive care unit of Brest Regional Hospital No. 1, a member of the trade union of radio-electronic industry (REP), has received a notice that his contract would not be extended. Meanwhile, he did not have any reprimands; on the contrary, during the four years he has proved to be a good specialist.

25.06.2013 Brest: Most deputies ignore appeals of their voters

Such a conclusion was made by local civil society activists, who tried to urge the members of the City Council of Brest to contribute to the rapid implementation of the agreement on the local border traffic between Poland and Belarus.