05.07.2018 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: June 2018
In early June, representatives of opposition political parties and NGOs started picketing a restaurant located next to the grave of the victims of Soviet repression of 1930s-40s, popularly known as Kurapaty. According to the protesters, the construction of the eating-house was accompanied by legal violations, while the choice of the place itself was inappropriate.
04.07.2018 Viasna observers arrested ahead of banned protest in Minsk
Five observers of Viasna and BHC’s joint monitoring service #ControlBY were briefly detained in Minsk yesterday afternoon ahead of a protest announced by opposition leader Mikalai Statkevich.
30.06.2018 Picks of the week
Activists continue to picket a restaurant near the Minsk belt motorway, which many say infringes on the territory of a nearby mass grave of Stalin-time victims, popularly known as Kurapaty. The protesters prevent cars from entering the facility, sometimes risking their lives.
29.06.2018 “We need a reform of the legal profession”. Human rights activists present joint report on lawyers in Belarus
On June 29, a coalition of human rights organizations presented a report about ongoing restrictions on the independence of lawyers in Belarus, which was prepared following a mission in January 2018.
28.06.2018 “The more we send, the more likely he will receive some”: Support prisoner of conscience Dzmitry Paliyenka!
“Let’s try and get him the gift of freedom,” Amnesty International called on its activists worldwide in early May as part of a global campaign in support of Belarusian prisoner of conscience Dzmitry Paliyenka.
26.06.2018 Death row prisoner Ihar Hershankou goes on hunger strike
Ihar Hershankou, who was earlier sentenced to death, says he is beginning a hunger strike while on death row in Minsk’s detention center No. 1 to protest numerous violations of his right to correspondence, Viasna learned from the prisoner’s mother.
26.06.2018 Miklós Haraszti: “I wish I could report to you about progress…”
On June 25, Miklós Haraszti, the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus, presented his sixth (and last) report on the situation of human rights in Belarus at the 38th session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
25.06.2018 UN Rights Rapporteur Laments Lack Of Improvement In 'Kafkaesque' Belarus
Belarusians continue to live under severe restrictions on freedom of assembly and other rights after nearly a quarter-century under President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, UN special rapporteur Miklos Haraszti has told RFE/RL.
21.06.2018 HRHF, FIDH, HRW urge UN Human Rights Council to renew mandate of Special Rapporteur on Belarus
Delegations at the UN Human Rights Council should support the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Belarus, Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said in a joint letter.
20.06.2018 EaP CSF’s Belarusian National Platform defends protesters against controversial restaurant in Kurapaty
The Belarusian National Platform of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership has issued a statement to “express deep concern” over the construction and opening of the restaurant Poedem, Poedim next to the historical and cultural site Kurapaty in Minsk.
19.06.2018 Miklós Haraszti to present his last report on Belarus
On 25 June, Miklós Haraszti, UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus, is expected to present his sixth and last report on the human rights situation in Belarus within the 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
19.06.2018 Legacy of Dark Days: Protesters penalized for honoring victims of Stalinist repression
The video created by the Human Rights Center "Viasna" highlights the stories of two activists from Minsk, 80-year-old Anton Vusovich and 66-year-old Vera Vakulovich. They were among a few dozen people who gathered on October 29, 2017 outside the KGB building in Minsk to participate in a memorial picket called Chain of Memory.
18.06.2018 Legislative amendments further restrict media in Belarus, says OSCE media freedom representative
VIENNA, 18 June 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed concern following the adoption of legislative amendments in Belarus which further restrict media activities in the country. The amendments affect the work of national mass media, internet resources, and foreign media outlets.
18.06.2018 Amnesty International: Unprecedented Supreme Court decision to suspend death sentences
"This is a hugely significant and unprecedented decision for the only country in the region that has continued to execute people all these years."
15.06.2018 Picks of the week
Activists protest opening restraurant next to memorial site; trade union leaders plea not guilty; authorities harass environmental campaigners
