04.12.2008 Barysau: opposition activist is tried in absentia

At the end of November Sviatlana Danilava, a well-known distributor of the independent press from Barysau, received by mail the verdict of Pershamaiski district court of Minsk by which she was fined 700 000 rubles (about $330) for distribution of pre-electoral leaflets with calls to boycott. In the verdict it is also stated that she had not come to the trial.

02.12.2008 Vitsebsk: human rights activist is not allowed to hold pickets

Pavel Levinau, activist of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, intended to hold a number of pickets dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Human Rights Declaration. He addressed Vitsebsk authorities with the request to authorize the actions and received a refusal signed by the deputy head of Vitsebsk city executive committee Pavel Losich.

01.12.2008 Reporters Without Borders call Belarusian authorities not to increase surveillance of Internet

Reporters Without Borders has learned that two independent newspapers that were dropped from official distribution networks for criticizing the government - the weekly Narodnaya Volia and the fortnightly Nasha Niva - yesterday signed contracts that will allow them to appear in the state postal monopoly Belposhta’s newspaper subscription catalogue and to be on sale in the state-owned Belsayuzdruk’s chain of newsstands.

01.12.2008 Lukashenka signed law on protection of information

On 10 November Alexander Lukashenka signed the law On Information, Informatization, and Information Protection. It was published on 26 November and will come into force six months after the publication.

05.11.2008 No ‘extremism’ in ‘Svaboda’?

On 5 November Hrodna oblast court considered the cassation complaint against the verdict of Iuye district court by which an August issue of the Svaboda newspaper had been declared extremist. The judge Alexander Sitsko ruled to return the case to Iuye district court for review.

23.10.2008 The Belarusian Independent Newspapers Outboard of Subscription Campaign Again

«Belposha» state monopolist’s enterprise official Aksana Chychko has informed the BAJ Press Service that a subscription campaign 2009 was started in Belarus on October 15, 2008. However, just another time, a number of non-state social and political newspapers were deprived of possibility to get into the «Belposhta» subscription catalogue.

13.10.2008 Law machinery to conceal information about criminal cases

According to a new ruling mass media would not be able to receive information about celebrated criminal cases without written permission of the judge who tries it. As written in the Yurist magazine, the general procuracy, the State Control Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, KGB and the Ministry of Justice have determined the order of informing mass media about celebrated criminal cases and the crimes that ‘undermine the authority of the state power’.

08.10.2008 State monopolist ‘Belsayuzdruk’ refuses to distribute ‘Nasha Niva’

The state-run press-distribution monopoly Belsayuzdruk once again refused to distribute the independent newspaper Nasha Niva via its trade network.

03.10.2008 State press publishes list of materials considered as extremist

On 2 October 2 a state-run newspaper Zviazda published a list of ‘extremist’ materials.

27.09.2008 Zhanna Litvina: A Laureate of Ebert Foundation on Human Rights Award

As it has become known recently, Ms. Zhanna Litvina, Chairperson of Belarusian Association of Journalists will receive Ebert Foundation on Human Rights Award in 2008.

"Freedom of speech in an inseparable part if civil liberties and human rights. In case of its absence all other human rights appear unde­r threat. Therefore the main objective of BAJ is to do everything possible in order to defend freedom of speech. The awarding proves true that out efforts have certain effect", Zhanna Litvina noted in her interview to the BAJ Press Service.

17.09.2008 Valiantsin Stefanovic: authorities have another chance to prosecute opposition members

Lawyer and human rights defender Valiantsin Stefanovic comments on a number of suits filed by Hrodna KGB asking to recognize that the seized printed editions are of extremist nature:

“We observe unprecedented processes when the regional Committee for State Security (KGB) appeals to court under the Code of Civic Procedures, asking to recognize the legal fact that some printed editions are extremist. Among the editions on their list there is the Chronicle Review of Human Rights Violations in Belarus”, published by Viasna in 2004. According to the plaintiffs, it contains pictures from the rallies of anti-Belarusian nature: the Freedom Day, the Chernobyl March, Ancestors’ day, and others. The KGB also thinks the Review contains calls to overthrow the regime in an unconstitutional way.

Meanwhile, in 2004, when the draft law "about counteraction to extremism" was still considered by the parliament, we warned the Belarusian society about possible usage of the law against the political opposition and dissidents. Now, in Hrodna, we are actually observing the facts when any kind of criticism, including publishing of human rights materials, is assessed as extremist and containing (although it is still not clear, where) calls to anti-constitutional change of state system.

In our opinion, this is a very dangerous tendency. Although the law does not contain any sanctions and is more of a guiding nature, it still can be logically concluded that if the materials (in our case, the Chronicle Review of Human Rights Violations in Belarus -- 2004) are recognized extremist editions containing calls to overthrow the constitutional system, then their authors might be prosecuted.

We have a criminal article “Calls to overthrow the constitutional system”, which provides for criminal responsibility for such actions. This way, the Belarusian authorities have another chance to prosecute dissidents. Now we need to do everything we can to draw the public attention to these lawsuits. Moreover, we are in the election period at the moment. We should not allow for such a persecution now.

15.09.2008 Extremism charges against newspaper of Union of Poles in Belarus

On 12 September journalist Andzhei Pisalnik received a writ to Kastrychnitski district court of Hrodna for 18 September.

15.09.2008 ‘Young Front’ activist gets handcuffed for handing out newspapers

When distributing the latest publication of the independent newspaper Svabodny Salihorsk in the central market of the city, a volunteer of the newspaper, an activist of the Young Front Andrus Tychyna was detained by local policeman with use of force. He was handcuffed, and, despite of the indignation of the market customers, was taken to the local police department.

10.09.2008 Candidate Liaukovich is asked not to defame and not to slander

The editorial board of the regional state newspaper Vecherniy Brest addressed the candidate for deputy at Brest Eastern electoral constituency #1 Anatol Liaukovich with the request to change a part of his electoral program or ‘put it in line with Article 47 of the Electoral Code’.

09.09.2008 Dziatlava: TV shows news instead of candidate’s appearance

On 5 September, at 5.30-6.30 pm the speech of a candidate from the Party of Communists Belarusian Yanina Huzouskaya was to have been broadcast on the Lad TV channel. Instead, at this time there was shown the news of Brest TV studio. Thus, the electors of Dziatlava and other settlements were deprived of the opportunity to familiarize with the candidate.