News on the topic: human rights defenders
26.04.2013 Aleh Hulak: So far we have no reason to consider Andrei Haidukou a political prisoner
The Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” are concerned about the procedural irregularities in the investigation into the charges brought against Andrei Haidukou.
26.04.2013 Viasna’s website resumes work after hacker attack
Several publications posted on the website of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” were distorted, after hackers gained unauthorized access to the website last evening. The hacker attack affected all the three language versions.
24.04.2013 Prosecutor’s Office issues warning to human rights defender Tamara Siarhei
According to Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus the human rights defender can face up to two years in prison.
22.04.2013 Aleh Volchak files complaint to UN Human Rights Committee
The complaint concerns two short jail terms the human rights defender had to serve in 2012 in the Center for Isolation of Offenders at 36 Akrestsin Street, www.protivpytok.org reports.
18.04.2013 Homel human rights defender seeks compensation over failure to implement UN HR Committee decisions
Human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka filed a lawsuit to the Tsentralny District Court of Homel against the Ministry of Finance demanding compensation for moral damages due to the failure of the authorities to implement the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee. He estimates the moral damage at the amount of the salary of a Member of Parliament within four years of office.
15.04.2013 Lidziya Yarmoshyna ignores proposal of Vitsebsk human rights defender
Human rights defender Leanid Svetsik applied to the Central Election Commission with the proposal to introduce amendments to the Electoral Code. In particular, he asked to supply Article 11 of the Electoral Code with the notion of the legal status of election commissions. In her answer the CEC head informed him that his application wouldn't be considered on its merits.
15.04.2013 Trial of Piotr Ivanov postponed to 17 April
The trial of Vitsebsk citizen Piotr Ivanov, detained at the building of the regional road police on 12 April, started the same day. Mr. Ivanov solicited for the admission of his counsel to the trial. Andrei Preis, Judge of Pershamaiski Distrit Court of Vitsebsk, granted the petition. Piotr Ivanov was given time until 11.00 a.m. on 17 April in order to conclude a service agreement with a counsel, and was set free until then.
12.04.2013 Youth Human Rights Movement gets nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Norwegian Nobel Committee included the Youth Human Rights Movement in the list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize 2013. This network of organizations was nominated for the prize for educational and human rights activities in different countries. This became a peculiar gift to the human rights defenders on the International Day of Youth Actions for Human Rights, 9 April.
12.04.2013 Public viewing and discussion on film "Torture in Belarus. Apocalypsis"
On 15 April the Lithuanian cinema festival "Inconvenient Cinema" and the Belarusian Human Rights House invite all interested persons to the opening view of a documentary about tortures and cases of cruel and inhumane treatment of citizens by law-enforcement officers, and the following discussion with the film producer and its heroes.
08.04.2013 Homel: human rights defenders ask Education Minister to include works of Roma in the school curriculum
Homel human rights defenders Maryia Klimovich and Ales Yauseyenka filed a letter to the Education Minister Siarhei Maskevich, asking him to include in the school curriculum poems and novels.
08.04.2013 "Amnesty International" sues against prohibition of picket near Belarusian Embassy in Moscow
The international human rights organization decided to file a lawsuit against the prohibition of a picket near the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus by Moscow authorities.
05.04.2013 Website of Mahiliou "Viasna" branch resumed its activity
The website of Mahiliou branch of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", mahilyowspring.org, started working again. The deleted two-year's information was restored, the slandering articles, published by unidentified persons, were deleted. Specialists are working at the increase of its security.
05.04.2013 Swedish human rights defenders demand to exclude Belarus from "Eurovision" contest
Their other demand is to exclude the Belarusian TV from the European Broadcasting Union.
04.04.2013 Restrictions on access of human rights defenders to foreign financing contribute to impunity
Paris-Geneva, 3 April 2013. In a recent annual report Observatory for the Protection of human rights defenders drew attention to the new negative trends affecting the effective work of human rights defenders. Restrictions on access to financing, particularly foreign, are increasingly used by governments, which tend to make defenders silenced.
04.04.2013 Human rights defenders issue a statement concerning the cracking of the website of Mahiliou "Viasna" branch
In the evening of 2 April unidentified persons acquired unauthorized access to the website of Mahiliou branch of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and published an article with threats to indpendent journalist Ales Burakou on behalf of human rights defender Barys Bukhel. The unknown offenders hacked the website security and changed the administrator's passwords.
