29.09.2015 Lyudmila Alexeyeva awarded Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has awarded its annual Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize to veteran Russian activist Lyudmila Alekseyeva.
28.09.2015 Baranavičy: 30 football fans detained in picket in support of Tatsiana Karatkevich and against Russian military bases
On September 27, opposition activist Ryhor Hryk in Baranavičy staged a picket in support of presidential candidate Tatsiana Karatkevich and against the Russian military bases. The protest was held under a white-red-white flag and a Ukrainian flag, as well as a flag of the independent trade union of Radio Electronic Industry (REP).
28.09.2015 Analytical report on the results of weekly observation: September 21-27
Observation of the election of the President of Belarus is carried out by activists of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center "Viasna" in the framework of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections".
27.09.2015 Uladzimir Labkovich: We insist on reforming opaque vote count
On September 25, the ninth working meeting of the OSCE Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw raised the problem of democratic institutions, including democratic elections. Uladzimir Labkovich, coordinator of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections", presented the position of Belarusian human rights defenders on the current presidential election.
27.09.2015 Baranavičy: Opposition activist fired over wearing prison uniform at work
On September 24, an activist from Baranavičy, Ryhor Hryk, was once again fired from his job, this time as a loader in one of the city’s private shops, after he came to work wearing striped prison clothes. The shop was closed for two hours, and the police were called. As a result, the activist was dismissed for alleged absence from work on Saturday, September 19, when Ryhor Hryk was on vacation.
27.09.2015 Homieĺ: Students and teachers again forced to attend meeting with Lukashenka’s trustee
On September 25, the Homieĺ-based Turyst Hotel hosted a meeting with Siarhei Biaspalau, a trustee of presidential candidate Aliaksandr Lukashenka and editor-in-chief of the local government-run newspaper Homieĺskaja Praŭda.
25.09.2015 Andrei Paluda: It's time to introduce a moratorium on the death penalty in Belarus
On September 25, the OSCE Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw hosted an exchange of views on the abolition of the death penalty.
25.09.2015 Schoolchildren forced to join BRSM in Salihorsk
Local representatives of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in Salihorsk have received information about cases of coercion and threats to students by the school administration in an attempt to force them join the pro-government youth organization Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM).
25.09.2015 Lawyer Pavel Sapelka comments on charges against Ales Mikhalevich
On September 20, it was reported that the Investigative Committee refused to drop charges against Ales Mikhalevich, former presidential candidate who returned to Belarus after nearly five years the Czech Republic. The criminal case was opened in December 2010 after his involvement in a peaceful protest in Minsk.
25.09.2015 Suspects in graffiti case: We face six years in prison
According to one of the accused, Maksim Piakarski, the Investigative Committee continues the investigation. Last week he was questioned again. He stated that graffiti makers plead not guilty, Radio Svaboda reports.
25.09.2015 Homieĺ authorities ban anti-election protest
The Homieĺ city executive committee has banned a street protest that was expected to campaign for the boycott of the presidential election scheduled for October 11.
24.09.2015 BAJ releases second monitoring on media coverage of presidential election
The monitoring summarises the findings of the second stage of the monitoring, i.e. between 1 September and 20 September, 2015. According to the schedule of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus, it was during this time span that the CEC finished checking the voters’ signatures endorsing potential presidential hopefuls; the candidates were formally registered and launched their campaigns.
24.09.2015 Brest activists ask for more accessibility at polling stations
Representatives of the civil initiative Social Office have sent petitions to the territorial election commissions in Brest, asking to improve access for the physically handicapped persons at the city’s polling stations.
24.09.2015 Observers can record audio and video only if election committees allow it
Observers can record audio and video only if election committees allow it, CEC chairperson Lidziya Yarmoshyna replied to the Movement For Freedom.
24.09.2015 Prosecutors ignore expulsion of activist from election commission in Viciebsk
According to Valery Misnikau, he has written to the Viciebsk City Prosecutor's Office to complain of his expulsion from the city’s precinct commission No. 17. He was included in the commission on August 16. However, his name was not among the commission members, he said.
