The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

It is two years since Baranavichy activist Mikalai Charnavus started applying for the registration of a local Ukrainian minority NGO “Kobzar”. His latest visit to chairman of Brest regional executive committee Kanstantsin Sumar was not optimistic, as the high official said the NGO could only be registered after 15 mln rubles were donated to the city budget.

Mrs. Anzhalika Kambalava, member of Baranavichy office of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, has sent an open letter to chairman of the House of Representatives’ Legislation Commission Mikalai Samaseika, together with MPs Sviatlana Pishch and Anatol Vankovich, suggesting humanization of the country’s penal legislation.

Baranavichy entrepreneur Mikalai Charnavus applied to the Brest Regional Court with the request to abolish the verdict of the verdict of the Baranavichy City Court, according to which the latter allegedly had no powers to consider the case concerning the illegality of the election of the Council of the local market, and returned the case for the second trial.

At 8.30 a.m. on 1 May Baranavichy police detained a group of civil activists at the central railway station. The activists were heading for Minsk in order to take part in a sitting of Dzmitry Uss' initiative group. Among the detainees there were Artsiom Babei, Viachaslau Bolbat, Aliaksandr Davydau and Ryhor Hryk.

On 9 April civil activist Ryhor Hryk received a letter signed by the Deputy Head of the Baranavichy City Executive Committee Dz. Kastsiukevich. There it is stated, that Baranavichy CEC, being guided by the Law of the Republic of Belarus of 12 December 1997 No. 114-3 "About Mass Events" (in the edition No. 308-3 of 11 August 2011) prohibited the activist to hold a picket in the old city park on 15 April.

On 6 April the duty judge stated it to Mikalai Charnavus who came to the court to register his appeal against the unlawful re-election of the Council of the central market of Baranavichy (held by the administration).

On 5 April Baranavichy-based entrepreneur Mikalai Charnavus received an answer from the Baranavichy City Court.

Baranavichy-based entrepreneur and civil activist Mikalai Charnavus applied to the Baranavichy City Court with a request to find unlawful the re-election of the Council of the central market of Baranavichy. The matter is that the re-election wasn't conducted by the general assembly of the entrepreneurs, but by the administration of the market.

On 20 March Baranavichy civil activist Ryhor Hryk received an official reply from the city executive committee imposing a ban on staging a picket commemorating the 94th anniversary of the proclamation of the independence of the Belarusian People’s Republic (Freedom Day) on 25 March.

Baranavichy civil activist Ryhor Hryk has lodged a complaint with Prosecutor General’s Office contesting a number of warnings issued against the activist by Baranavichy city and Brest regional prosecutors.