The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

28.11.2020 Release political prisoner Maksim Pauliushchyk!

Joint statement by Belarusian human rights organizations

27.11.2020 Repression against "Viasna" human rights defenders: Increase in persecution before and after election

In 2020, some 20 members and volunteers of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" were persecuted and repressed. Although they carry out entirely peaceful human rights activities, Viasna staff are persecuted by the state in various ways: arrests on flimsy pretexts, administrative and criminal persecution, searches, trials, and other forms of pressure.

26.11.2020 Release political prisoner Ihar Samusenka!

Joint statement by Belarusian human rights organizations

25.11.2020 Human rights coalition adds 8 new names to list of political prisoners

Joint statement by the human rights organizations of Belarus

24.11.2020 Immediately release arrested students and professor!

Joint statement by Belarusian human rights organizations

23.11.2020 380 detained on Day 106 of post-election protests

At least 379 protesters were detained yesterday in Minsk and other cities of Belarus, according to Viasna’s database. Only a few were released, while most are expected to stand administrative trials in the coming days.

20.11.2020 Convicted protesters lose appeal in “resisting arrest” trial

The Minsk City Court upheld today the sentences of imprisonment earlier handed down to two protesters arrested on charges of using violence when resisting arrest at an election rally. The sentences were condemned as politically motivated by the country’s human rights community.

19.11.2020 Human rights defenders call to release arrested student activists

Statement of Protest against attack on Belarusian Students' Association

18.11.2020 Viasna journalist gets 15 more days in prison

Maryna Kastylianchanka, Viasna member and journalist, has been sentenced to another 15 days of administrative detention, after a mock trial held in the Baranavičy detention facility on Tuesday, November 17.

16.11.2020 Position of Belarusian human rights organizations on the death of Raman Bandarenka

Numerous video footage of the incident and testimonies by eyewitnesses allow us to conclude that officers of special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus were involved in the crime with a high degree of probability.

16.11.2020 Over 1,000 detained again in Sunday protests

At least 1,127 protesters were detained yesterday across Belarus, as riot police and other law enforcement officers violently dispersed a dozen protests, including the 14th consecutive weekly demonstration in Minsk since the August 9 presidential election.

13.11.2020 Ales Bialiatski: “The fault for Raman Bandarenka’s death lies with the Interior Ministry”

Last night, November 12, a 31-year-old artist Raman Bandarenka died in a Minsk hospital after being beaten by unknown persons believed to be plain-clothed police officers. The Human Rights Center "Viasna" demands the initiation of a criminal case, investigation and punishment for those responsible for Raman's death.

12.11.2020 Nearly 1,000 criminal cases: Aftermath of presidential election and post-election protests

Over 900 persons in Belarus have been targeted by criminal charges related to the August 9 presidential election and the post-election protests that followed, according to Viasna’s estimates.

11.11.2020 Three months after, still no justice for people who died in protests

In August, within days of one another, three people were laid to rest after attending post-election protests that were met with police violence and non-lethal weapons. In Minsk, Aliaksandr Taraikouski died from a rubber bullet wound. Henadz Shutau from Brest died a few days later under similar circumstances. Aliaksandr Vikhor from Homieĺ was detained, and three days later, the young man died in hospital.