29.10.2009 Mother of capitally convicted person addresses UN Human Rights Committee with complaint

The mother of Andrei Zhuk, who was sentenced to death for alleged murder of two persons in February 2009, has submitted an individual complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee, claiming that in the course of the investigation and the trial, a number of provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were violated, namely the right to life, the right to freedom of torture, the right to individual liberty and personal immunity and the right to a fair trial. The woman also calls upon the Committee to immediately address Belarus, as a party to the Covenant, with a demand to suspend executing the death sentence before the consideration of the case on the merits.

28.10.2009 No changes on gender front

The World Economic Forum has released its annual Global Gender Gap Report, placing Belarus 34th (as compared to the 33th rank last year) among 115 countries covered in the report. The Report examines four critical areas of inequality between men and women in 130 economies around the globe, over 92% of the world’s population: 1. Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment 2. Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher level education 3. Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures 4. Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio

27.10.2009 FIDH Representative addresses UN Special Rapporteur on Torture regarding repressions in Belarus

Julie Gromellon, FIDH Representative in Geneva, has addressed Manfred NOWAK, Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, with an appeal regarding individual cases of ill-treatment in Belarus / harsh repression of protests in Belarus. The high FIDH official condemns cases of recent violent repression of peaceful protesters in Belarus, quoting letters sent by the victims. Here is the full text of the appeal.

20.10.2009 Belarus leaps 4 positions in Reporters without Borders Press Freedom Index

The Reporters without Borders international organization has issued its annual index of freedom of the press, placing Belarus 151st out of 175 countries. ‘Indicators point to a deterioration in the press freedom situation in almost all of the former Soviet Republics except Georgia (81st) and, to a lesser extent, Belarus (151st), whose government has initiated a cautious and so far limited improvement in its relations with the press as part of a renewed dialogue with the EU. It is hard at this stage to predict whether this ripple on the surface will swell or fade away’, says the report.

20.10.2009 UN Human Rights Committee registers complaint by activist Halina Yubko

The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Committee has registered an individual complaint submitted by Minsk resident Halina Yubko, the Nasha Niva newspaper reports. In her interview with the BelaPAN news agency, Mrs.Yubko said that on 19 January 2007 she applied for holding a picket to Minsk city authorities. She, together with 50 other women from all over the country, was going to express her dissent to the conviction judgments awarded to their relatives for civil and criminal offences. The picket was meant to attract public and governmental attention to the issue of violating Constitutional rights and international treaties while considering criminal and civil cases.

16.10.2009 Foreign Ministry ignores conclusions by UN HR Committee

Baranavichy human rights activist Siarhei Housha has received a reply to his inquiry lodged with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging the officials to provide explanations for the Ministry’s non-compliance with the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee of 27 July 2007, ordering the Belarusian authorities to rehabilitate Mr.Housha’s right to the freedom of association, as one of the founders of the Viasna human rights center, closed down by order of court in 2003.

13.10.2009 Information on torture of participants of peaceful actions passed to international organizations

The Human Rights Center Viasna collected information about the facts of tortures and inhuman treatment of the detained participants of the peaceful actions held on 9 and 16 September 2009. The lawyers also prepared 6 complaints to the Tsentralny district prosecutor’s office of Minsk against the unlawful police actions and questioned some eyewitnesses of the tortures.

13.10.2009 Death convict Yuzepchuk has some hope again

On 12 October 2009 the UN Human Rights Committee registered the individual address of Vasil Yuzepchuk, sentenced to death by Brest oblast court, under number 1906/2009. The appropriate information was received from Geneva office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights by the human rights defender Raman Kisliak.

09.10.2009 Complaint about violation of death convict Vasil Yuzepchuk’s rights submitted to UN Human Rights Committee

On 9 October, on the eve of the World Day against the Death Penalty, the UN Human Rights Committee confirmed receiving the individual address of Vasil Yuzepchuk, who on 28 June 2009 was sentenced by Brest oblast court to death with property confiscation.

08.10.2009 Amnesty International calls on Alexander Lukashenka to grant clemency to Vasil Yuzepchuk

Amnesty International has urged the President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenka to grant clemency to a man who may be facing imminent execution.

29.09.2009 Reporters Without Borders call on Belarusian authorities to stop obstructing work of journalists

Four days after a joint international press freedom mission to Belarus, Reporters Without Borders today called on the Belarusian government to stop obstructing the work of journalists working for foreign news media.

The press freedom organisation has signed a statement issued by the mission at the end of its five-day visit noting that: “Accreditation of journalists working for Belarus or foreign media, as well as the registration of offices of media, are restricted by non-transparent and discriminatory decisions of the authorities.”

28.09.2009 Statement by International Mission to the Republic of Belarus

A group of international media and press freedom organisations today called upon the Belarus authorities to bring the country’s media environment into accordance with international standards, following the visit of a joint delegation to Minsk from 20 to 24 September 2009.

The group welcomes recent changes and recognises that pressure on media and journalists has eased. However, this must be translated into a lasting commitment to ensure the rights of journalists and to undertake much needed reforms of the media environment. Such changes need to be far reaching and irreversible.

24.09.2009 FIDH issues report on Viasna's registration trial

The International Federation for Human Rights has issued a report based on the organization's observation in the case of Human Rights Association Nasha Viasna versus the Ministry of Justice that was considered by the Supreme Court on 10-12 August 2009.

24.09.2009 Experts on freedom of speech didn’t believe Pyatkevich

The international journalistic mission has a negative general impression of its visit to Belarus.

The international experts will make an official statement later, “”Yezhednevnik” reports.

Though representatives of international organizations dealing with mass media and freedom of press issues have repeatedly emphasized the aim of the visit wasn’t proving the Belarusians necessity of democratic reforms, but just lending support to national media, the guests have a negative general impression.

It especially concerns meetings with Belarusian officials. European director of the International Federation of Journalists Marc Gruber said telling about the meeting with first deputy head of Lukashenka’s Administration Natallya Pyatkevich they had failed to understand each other.

23.09.2009 Amnesty International addresses Lukashenka on Viasna's case

Amnesty International has written to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus to express its concern that the human rights organization, Nasha Vyasna (Our Spring), formerly known as Vyasna, has been denied registration by the Belarusian authorities for the third time. On 12 August 2009 the Supreme Court of Belarus upheld a decision taken by the Ministry of Justice on 28 May to refuse registration to Nasha Vyasna.