The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

27.05.2013 Ales Bialiatski reelected FIDH Vice President

Ales Bialiatski, imprisoned leader of the Human Rights Center “Viasna”, has been reelected Vice President of the International Federation for Human Rights. The vote was held today as part of the 38th FIDH Congress hosted by Istanbul.

27.05.2013 UN Human Rights Committee recognizes violation of Navapolatsk activists’ rights

The UN Human Rights Committee recognized a violation of the rights of civil society activist from the town of Navapolatsk, Anton Yasinovich and Valery Shauchenka.

27.05.2013 Russian human rights defenders evicted from office in Voronezh

Russian human rights defenders urge their colleagues worldwide to show solidarity by sending letters to officials and signing a petition in support of the organizations and their offices.

27.05.2013 Belarusian human rights defenders to speak in UN

Their briefing precedes start of the UN Human Rights Council ordinary session.

27.05.2013 Editor and publisher of Krychau independent weekly summoned to court

Siarhei Niarouny, editor of the independent weekly “Vonly Horad” (“Free Town”), together with the newspaper’s publisher Uladzimir Kudrautsau, have been summoned to Krychau District Court as defendants in the suit for protection of goodwill lodged by the Cherykau-based PMK (Mobile Mechanical Division) No. 280.

27.05.2013 No news from Vaskovich for two months

Relatives have not been receiving letters from political prisoner Yauheny Vaskovich for two months.

27.05.2013 Radio Racyja Hrodna journalist receives fifth denial of accreditation

Viktar Parfionenka, journalist of the Poland-based Radio Racyja, received another denial of accreditation from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a fifth ban over the past five years.

24.05.2013 Davyd-Haradok police raid Roma community

The raid is described by the local pro-government weekly. The newspaper “Naviny Palessia” (“News of Palesse”) posted an article entitled “Gypsies are not asleep - and you do not sleep!”, in which it emphasized that “persons of the Roma ethnic group are rightly considered as unreliable people: to become rich at the expense of others is a “good” tradition for some of them.

24.05.2013 Homel journalist Anatol Hatouchyts summoned to Prosecutor’s Office

Anatol Hatouchyts, Homel leader of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, was summoned to the regional Prosecutor’s Office. Yesterday, he received a phone call from the senior assistant Prosecutor Dzmitry Deboi and invited to an interview. He explained that the Prosecutor’s Office possessed “evidence that on April 24 Hatouchyts prepared a video story for the satellite channel Belsat about the flood in Homel.”

24.05.2013 Parliament to outlaw age limit in employment as discrimination

The House of Representatives is reportedly discussing amendments to the Labor Code. The first reading of the bill is said to be underway at the moment.

24.05.2013 ARCHE Re-Registered

The Ministry of Information finally agreed to re-register the independent Belarusian language magazine Arche. Beginning – after six months’ financial inspection and four refusals to re-register the outlet.

23.05.2013 Mahiliou activists complain to UN Human Rights Committee

Complaints to the international organization were sent activist of the Belarusian Popular Front “Adradzhenne” Siarhei Niahatsin and deputy chairman of the Free Trade Union of Belarus Yury Novikau.

23.05.2013 Amnesty International releases Annual Report

"Prisoners of conscience remained in detention; some were sentenced to increased prison terms for violating prison rules. Civil society activists, including human rights defenders and journalists, faced violations of their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association. Three men were executed," says the Belarus country section of the Report.

23.05.2013 Human rights defenders demand freedom for Ales Bialiatski in Istanbul

Participants in the 38th Congress of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), which was opened today in Istanbul, held a rally to demand the release of prominent human rights defenders, FIDH Vice-President Ales Bialiatski and Nabeel Rajab, FIDH Deputy Secretary General.

23.05.2013 Istanbul: FIDH 38th Congress

For a week, from Thursday, May 23, to Monday, May 27, Istanbul will become the human rights capital of the world, with more than 200 NGOs from 130 countries gathering together. Belarus is represented at the Congress by Valiantsin Stefanovich, Deputy Head of the Human Rights Center “Viasna”, and lawyer Pavel Sapelka.