17.06.2020 Siarhei Tsikhanouski facing new charge of “obstructing elections”
Popular YouTuber and election campaigner Siarhei Tsikhanouski is facing a new charge of “interfering with elections” (Art. 191 of the Criminal Code), according to a reliable source. The charge carries a range of possible penalties, including imprisonment.
15.06.2020 Andrei Novikau called eighth political prisoner in Tsikhanouski case
Representatives of the country’s leading human rights organizations, including Viasna, have named Andrei Novikau, volunteer of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s nomination team, another political prisoner after on June 12 he faced official charges of “disturbing public order” during an election picket on May 29 in Hrodna.
12.06.2020 Picks of the week
Investigators name another suspect in Siarhei Tsikhanouski's case; Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya suspends signature collection amid unprecedented repression; Viasna activist in Svietlahorsk facing new penalty
12.06.2020 Stop pressure and intimidation of people involved in presidential election!
Urgent statement of the human rights community of Belarus
10.06.2020 HRDs insist on immediate release of all activists charged under Article 342 of the Criminal Code
Statement by the human rights community of Belarus on the criminal charges against Siarhei Tsikhanouski and six other participants in the May 29 picket in Hrodna
09.06.2020 Siarhei Tsikhanouski and supporters face formal charges
Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a known vlogger and campaign chief of his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s nomination group, has been officially charged under Part 1, Art. 342 of the Criminal Code (organizing group actions that grossly violate public order and are associated with obvious disobedience to the lawful demands of the authorities or have caused disruption of the activities of public transport, enterprises, institutions or organizations, or active participation in such actions in the absence of signs of a more serious crime).
09.06.2020 2020 Presidential Election. Weekly observation report: June 1-7
Representatives of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” note the continuing trend of increasing repression during the election period, including against the direct participants in the election, and the escalation of tensions and an atmosphere of fear in society.
05.06.2020 Belarus must stop crackdown to silence opposing views – UN experts
A group of UN experts today expressed serious concern about an intensified crackdown on civil society in Belarus, saying the country’s government must protect the right to freedom of expression and stop silencing critical voices.
05.06.2020 Picks of the week
Candidate's nomination campaign at risk after arrest of 9 activists; CEC ignores Lukashenka's sexist remarks; police detain would-be candidate
04.06.2020 EU, U.S. envoys urge Belarus to invite OSCE/ODIHR election observers
Joint Statement on the Presidential Elections in Belarus by the Missions of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union on behalf of the EU Member States represented in Minsk
03.06.2020 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: May 2020
May was marked by a sharp deterioration in the human rights situation and an increase in repression, which is due to the start of the presidential election campaign.
03.06.2020 OSCE PA human rights leaders call for open campaign in advance of presidential election in Belarus
Following reports of the detention of numerous political activists engaged in activities related to the upcoming presidential election in Belarus, the leaders of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's human rights committee, Chair Kyriakos Hadjiyianni (Cyprus), Vice-Chair Michael Link (Germany), and Rapporteur and Kari Henriksen (Norway), released a statement.
02.06.2020 MEPs deplore "substantial deterioration" in Belarus
"We are deeply concerned about the continued failure of the Belarusian authorities to improve the election environment and their manifest lack of intention to create conditions for a genuine level-playing field between the candidates," said a joint statement by the chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Belarus, MEP Robert Biedroń, and the EP's standing rapporteur on Belarus, MEP Petras Auštrevičius.
02.06.2020 2020 Presidential Election. Weekly observation report: May 25-31
As compared to the previous presidential election, this year’s campaign, despite the COVID-19 crisis, is characterized by widespread media and street activity of individual candidates. The deterioration of the socio-economic situation in the country and the authorities’ controversial policies in response to the pandemic became a catalyst for public discontent and led to a certain increase in election-related protests.
01.06.2020 Release Siarhei Tsikhanouski!
We, representatives of Belarusian human rights organizations, call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release Siarhei Tsikhanouski and stop his criminal prosecution.
