News on the topic: political prisoners
04.08.2015 Zmitser Dashkevich: EU encourages Lukashenka to take new “hostages”
Lifting sanctions from 24 Belarusian officials and judges means unprincipled trade ahead of the so called election.
03.08.2015 Ales Bialiatski sees no clear grounds for reducing the EU sanctions list
As it became known today, the Council of the European Union by its decision dated 31 July lifted the sanctions from 24 Belarusian officials involved in the persecution and repression of civil society.
01.08.2015 Biaroza authorities ban picket of solidarity with political prisoners
Biaroza District Executive Committee dismissed the appeal of the local human rights activists for holding a picket of solidarity with political prisoners on August 4, the International Day of Solidarity with Belarusian Civil Society.
31.07.2015 Supreme Court rejects appeal by political prisoner Ihar Alinevich
According to Valiantsina Alinevich, the mother of political prisoner Ihar Alinevich, she has received a letter from her son, which said that the Supreme Court has dismissed the political prisoner’s supervisory appeal.
29.07.2015 Siarhei Skrabets: Mikalai Statkevich is tortured in prison
The political prisoner is held in solitary confinement without light and fresh air.
28.07.2015 Mikalai Dziadok’s mother: “Two square meters – standard room per prisoner. It’s horrible!”
Almost a month has passed since political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok was confined in so called ‘cell-type premises’ (PKT) in penal colony No. 9 in Horki.
26.07.2015 Brest Regional Court turns down appeal in Yury Rubtsou case
On July 24, the Brest Regional Court rejected the appeal of political prisoner Yury Rubtsou against a decision of the Pružany District Court, leaving the two-year sentence unchanged. The activist, who was serving a sentence in a correctional facility of open type in the village Kuplin, Pružany district, was accused of evasion from serving the punishment of restraint of liberty (Art. 415 of the Criminal Code).
22.07.2015 Maryna Adamovich: “Refusal to register Statkevich’s initiative group violates the law”
Maryna Adamovich, the wife of political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich, and head of his campaign team, argues that the refusal to register his initiative violates the Electoral Code.
14.07.2015 Mikalai Dziadok. Bitter taste of colony in Horki
Mikalai Dziadok has been held in the correctional colony in Horki for two months already. He was transferred there on May 12, after being sentenced to one year of imprisonment under Article 411 of the Criminal Code.
13.07.2015 Mikalai Dziadok and his cellmate held in 5 sq. m. cell
Mikalai Dziadok was transferred to a cell-type unit for six months after 42 days in a punishment cell.
12.07.2015 Political prisoner Rubtsou repeatedly goes on a hunger strike
Since July 1 Yury Rubtsou has gone on a hunger strike. The reason is the treatment and confinement conditions in the Baranavichy pretrial detention facility.
08.07.2015 There has been no information about Ihar Alinevich for a month already
As reported by the mother of the political prisoner, Valiantsina Alinevich, there hasn't been any information about him for a month already. This fact is of great concern, as the latest news about him back in May were that was placed in the penal cell for a short term.
06.07.2015 Ales Bialiatski: Belarusian authorities use Soviet punitive methods
Six political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, including an ex-presidential candidate in the 2010 elections, Mikalai Statkevich. A number of democratic structures united around the initiative of nominating Mr. Statkevich as a candidate in the current presidential elections. This should be a manifestation of solidarity and draw public attention to the problem of political prisoners, who are still pressurized. Recently, Mikalai Dziadok's lawyer wasn't allowed to visit his client, ho is serving his prison term in penal colony No. 9 in Horki. In March, Mikalai was to have been released after serving 4.5 years in prison. Instead, he was sentenced to another year in a penal colony.
02.07.2015 New obstacles put to political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok
Today, July 2, the lawyer of Mikalai Dziadok didn't manage to meet with him. This was reported to the HRC “Viasna” by Mikalai's father.
30.06.2015 Pavel Sapelka: “There are legal mechanisms to release Statkevich”
According to Pavel Sapelka, lawyer at the Human Rights Center "Viasna", political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich cannot be amnestied, however, saying that Statkevich has to write a petition so that Lukashenka could release him is wrong, because according to the existing legislation, Mikalai Statkevich can not only be released without any petitions but also returned to political life.
