News on the topic: human rights defenders
03.12.2010 Maladechna: human rights defender Ales Kaputski dismissed from work
On 1 December the human rights defender from Maladechna Ales Kaputski, a long-term observer of the campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections was dismissed from work. The administration of the private enterprise where he worked refused to extend his labor contract without offering any explanations.
01.12.2010 Cities For Life/Cities Against The Death Penalty action held in Minsk for the first time
Activists of the campaign Human Rights Defenders Against Death Penalty and representatives of the Human Rights Center Viasna held the action Cities For Life/Cities Against The Death Penalty in Minsk.
29.11.2010 OSCE calls for closer cooperation with civil societies worldwide
On 29-29 November Astana, Kazakhstan, hosted the OSCE Civil Society Parallel Conference, attended by over 200 NGO representatives from 26 OSCE member countries. The conference is an independent event, initiated by the OSCE members ahead of the 2010 Summit to be held in Astana on 1-2 December.
05.11.2010 Precinct election commissions: ‘discrimination coefficient’ remains the same
On 5
November the civil campaign Human Rights
Defenders for Free Elections held a press-conference on the results of the
formation of precinct election commissions. The results that were announced by
the Chairperson of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Aleh Hulak and the lawyer
of the Human Rights Center Viasna Valiantsin
Stefanovich are quite disappointing for those who expect some democratization
of the election process. It was stated that representatives of opposition
structures weren’t included in the commissions five times more often than
representatives of the organizations that are loyal to the present authorities.
‘The coefficient of discrimination’, as Mr. Hulak called it, remains the same
in comparison to the previous election.
05.11.2010 Human rights defenders Pay attention to use of torture in Belarus
A group of human rights
defenders from different Belarusian human rights organizations prepared an
alternative report to the UN Committee against Torture. The report concerns the
international undertakings of Belarus
according to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Kinds of Treatment and Punishment. This is the first alternative
report on torture that will be presented to the UN in December and will be
considered by the Committee against Torture as early as spring 2011.
02.11.2010 Ales Bialiatski addressed Presidential Administration and Prosecutor General
The
vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Ales
Bialiatski addressed the Prosecutor General of Belarus, Ryhor Vasilevich, and
the Presidential Administration of Belarus.
14.10.2010 Salihorsk: human rights defenders obtained a copy of ‘Plan of organizational ideological provision of the election of President of the Republic of Belarus on 19 December 2010 on the territory of the Salihorsk district’
The document was signed on 23 September by the Chairperson of the Salihorsk District Executive Committee A Rymasheuski, the head of the organizational and personnel department V.Kokhan and the Deputy Chairperson on ideology, T.Subotsina.
13.10.2010 UN Human Rights Committee to consider individual communication about violation of right to peaceful assemblies by Belarusian authorities
The UN Human Rights Committee has registered the individual communication of the Smaliavichy civil activist Yauhen Puhach concerning the violation of his right to peaceful assemblies and freedom of expression by the local authorities. The official Minsk has six months to submit to the Committee its commentaries on this case.
13.10.2010 Baranavichy: human rights defenders file proposals to Central Election Commission
On 13 October the Baranavichy human rights defenders Siarhei Housha and Karnei Piatrovich addressed the Central Election Commission with a proposal. The matter is that two members of the Baranavichy City Territorial Election Commission, Leanid Chukho and Larysa Antonava, are members of the electoral team of Aliaksandr Lukashenka. Larysa Antonava is a proxy of the deputy of the Chamber of Representatives Sviatlana Pishch. Her candidacy was nominated for the election commission by the trade union of workers of state institutions. She also used to head the ideological department of the Baranavichy City Executive Committee. Leanid Chukho is a retired military officer who was nominated to the commission by the Belarusian Union of Military Officers. The both of them had worked at election commissions during previous elections.
13.10.2010 Brest Regional Court turns down complaint of 'Brestskaya Viasna'
On 12 October the Brest Regional Court left standing the verdict of the Brest City Court supporting the non-registration of the Brest regional human rights organization Brestskaya Viasna by the justice bureau of the Brest Regional Executive Committee.
12.10.2010 Siarhei Ustsinau: conditions in Belarusian pre-trial prisons are equaled to torture
The human rights defender Siarhei Ustsinau stated that the suspect in an attack on the delinquents’ isolation center in Akrestsin Street who had spent 9 days in the pre-trial prison applied to the procuracy with a complaint in connection with improper conditions of detention.
12.10.2010 Universal Day against Death Penalty marked all over Belarus
Activists of the campaign Human Rights Defenders against Death Penalty held a number of informational actions for the abolishment of the death penalty on 10 October, the Universal Day against the Death Penalty, and before it. Belarus remains the only European country that continues using this inhuman kind of punishment.
11.10.2010 Police detain circulation of 'Vitebskiy Kurier' with interviews of potential candidates for presidency
The circulation of the newspaper was detained while its chief editor, Viktar Ramniou, transported it from the Russian town of Slolensk, where it is printed. The edition was registered in the Russian Federation, as the local authorities made it impossible to register it in Vitsebsk.
07.10.2010 Baranavichy Town Executive Committee refuses to provide information about places of work of members of election commissions
On 1 October the the Baranavichy human rights defenders Sarhei Housha and Karnei Piatrovich applied to the Deputy Chairperson of the Baranavichy Town Executive Committee Dz. Kastsiukevich with the request to provide them with information about the place of work of each member of the Baranavichy Town Election Commission, because state officials cannot constitute more than 1/3 of a territorial election commission, and the implementation of this legal norm couldn’t be verified without such information.
07.10.2010 Information about tortures in Belarus became world-known
The use of tortures in Belarus was discussed at the OSCE Conference on Human Dimension that is held on 30 September -8 October in Warsaw. A representative of the Belarusian human rights organization Legal Initiative Siarhei Ustsinau took the floor and reported about the use of torture during the investigation of crimes, persecution of the people who reported about torture; violent dispersals of peaceful protest actions and the prison conditions.
