The Human Rights Center "Viasna" urges the Belarusian authorities to stop the practice of intimidation and pressurization of civic activists and immediately decriminalize the activity of unregistered organizations.
FIDH and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” demand that charges against six people, including two journalists, one human rights defender and one activist, be dropped in relation to their engagement in this years annual commemoration of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
Paris-Minsk, 1 November 2012 - FIDH and its member organisation in Belarus, Human Rights Center “Viasna”, condemn Tuesday’s Mozyr District Court decision imposing punitive incarceration on Zmitser Dashkevich, leader of the civil and political organization Young Front, for the entire duration of his sentence.
On 24 February 2012, the Pervomaisk District Court in Vitebsk sentenced opposition activist Siarhei Kavalenka to two years and one month imprisonment, having found him guilty of evading serving a punishment of supervised release.
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources of the arrest and alleged detention of Mr. Aleh Volchek, Head of “Legal Aid to the Population”, an organisation that provided legal assistance and was liquidated in 2003. The organisation recently published a report about the trial of Mr. Ales Bialiatski, President of HRC Viasna and FIDH Vice-President. Mr. Volchek’s recent work focused notably on political prisoners.
The Observatory urges the authorities of Belarus to put an end to all forms of harassment against the above-mentioned organisations and their members, in particular Mr. Ales Bialiatski and ensure that in all circumstances its members are able to carry out their work freely without any hindrances.
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