15.06.2010 Mikalai Charnavus addresses Belarusian authorities concerning violation of entrepreneurs’ rights

On 15 June, the Baranavichy entrepreneur Mikalai Charnavus addressed President of Belarus and Chairpersons of the Council of the Republic and the National Assembly with a complaint against the unlawful actions of the Homel customs office that had unlawfully confiscated goods from entrepreneur Nina Ivanashka in 2009.

13.05.2010 Procuracy warns entrepreneur for ‘biased commentaries’

On 13 May Viktar Chaikouski, Chairperson of the Brest branch of the Republican civil association Perspective, received an official warning from the Brest Region Procuracy.

08.04.2010 Grassroots protests of entrepreneurs in Minsk and Brest

Workers of Zhdanovichy car market, one of the biggest market in Belarus, went on strike.

05.03.2010 ’New Life’ applies to Supreme Court

Believers of the Minsk Protestant Church New Life lodged with the Supreme Court and appeal against the verdict of the Maskouski district court in Minsk by which it the church is sentenced to pay more than $100,000 for alleged harm to the environment (the soil samples that were taken from the car parking near the church allegedly contained excessive amounts of oil products).

02.03.2010 Vitsebsk police consider mass actions as business events

Businessmen have faced an unusual interpretation of the constitutional right to freedom of assembly.

04.12.2009 Detained for handing out entrepreneurs’ bulletin

The guards of Minsk market Malinauka detained the activist of the entrepreneur movement Pavel Yalovik for handing out the entrepreneurs’ informational bulletin. She was guarded to the office of the market director. Then the guards called the police. They said that it was prohibited to distribute any press at the market.

25.11.2009 Uladzimer Asipenka charged with terrorist act preparation

According to human rights activist Aleh Vouchak, Vaukavysk businessman Uladzimer Asipenka has been charged with the preparation of an act of terrorism, following similar charges brought against Mikalai Autukhovich a few days earlier.

09.11.2009 Investigation of ‘Vaukavysk case’ extended again

The investigation of the criminal case of entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk Mikalai Autukhovich and Uladzimir Asipenka has been extended till 8 December.

12.10.2009 Minsk: Information center of Council of Europe launches campaign against death penalty

On 10 October, the World Day against the Death Penalty, the Council of Europe’s information centre in Minsk launched a campaign on abolition of the death penalty.

09.10.2009 Entrepreneur fined equivalent of 56 000 US dollars for absence of hygienic certificate

On 9 October the Supreme Economic Court upheld the verdict of Vitsebsk oblast court by which Orsha entrepreneur Zhana Bokhan was fined 160 000 million Belarusian rubles.

08.10.2009 New suspect in Autukhovich’s case

The resident of Hrodna Mikhail Kazlou became the fourth suspect in the criminal case of Mikalai Autukhovich. The human rights activist Aleh Vouchak learned it from the document according to which the investigation is extended to 8 November.

25.09.2009 Criminal case against Yury Lyavonau closed

Three more political prisoners remain behind the bars – Mikalai Autukhovich, Uladzimir Asipenka, and Artsyom Dubski.

Entrepreneur from Vaukavysk Yury Lyavonau received a notice on closing a criminal case under article 218 part 2 (intentional damage to or destruction of property) instigated allegedly for arson of officials’ houses.

As Yury Lyavonau told in an interview to www.charter97.org, the notice also says that a new criminal case against him was instigated under article 406 part 2 for the fact “Lyavonau had an opportunity to prevent a crime, but didn’t inform the appropriate bodies and persons about the imminent grave or especially grave crime.”

09.09.2009 Mikalai Autukhovich is returned to prison ward

The political prisoner was transferred from the medical unit of the detention facility to a common cell. Lawyer Pavel Sapelka visited Mikalai Autukhovich on 8 September.

08.09.2009 Navapolatsk entrepreneur Yauheniya Bochurnaya declares indefinite hunger-strike

According to unofficial information, on 4 September Navapolatsk entrepreneur Yauheniya Bochurnaya, director of the open stock society Votrzzha, declared an indefinite hunger-strike. This was stated to the BelaPAN by her husband, Uladzimir Zhurba.

21.08.2009 Belarusian entrepreneurs call for legal appraisal of businessmen’s cases by Eastern Partnership

The criminal cases of Vaukavyssk businessmen Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Liavonau, Uladzimir Asipenka, as well as that of Artsiom Dubski, may receive legal appraisal in the framework of the Eastern Partnership cooperation project, the BelaPAN news agency reports quoting human rights activist Ihar Lednik. According to Mr.Lednik, the Belarusian authorities are trying to manipulate the opinions of European politicians pertaining to the criminal cases initiated after a series of protest rallies against the new staff-employment restrictions.