23.03.2016 Kitchen TV: The issue of the death penalty in the US
The issue of the death penalty in the United States is of particular interest for the Belarusian human rights defenders, since the US is often cited as an argument for the retention of the death penalty in Belarus.
14.03.2016 Well, we'll wait
Valiantsin Stefanovich reflects on the situation around the conference on the death penalty, which was held in Minsk last week, in the context of problems with the registration of the HRC "Viasna" and the government's general policy towards the non-governmental organizations in Belarus.
10.03.2016 EU Special Representative for Human Rights meets with Belarusian human rights activists
The Minsk office of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” hosted yesterday a meeting of representatives of a number of Belarusian human rights organizations with Mr. Stavros Lambrinidis, EU Special Representative for Human Rights, as well as Ms. Andrea Wiktorin, head of the EU Delegation in Minsk, and the EU Mission’s employee on political issues Ms. Renata Wrobel.
03.03.2016 Human Rights Defenders Offer Aid to CEC to Implement OSCE/ODIHR Recommendations
Experts of the campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections worked out recommendations aimed to increase publicity and transparency at the future parliamentary elections.
01.03.2016 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: February 2016
There were no new politically motivated criminal cases during the month, which is a continuation of the general trend of reducing the level of repression in the country observed since last August.
19.02.2016 Viasna demands immediate release of human rights defender Intiqam Aliyev in Azerbaijan
Representatives of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" have joined Amnesty International’s action, writing to the Azerbaijani ambassador in Belarus about the recent deterioration of health of Azerbaijani prisoner of conscience Intiqam Aliyev.
18.02.2016 Human rights defenders offer expert assistance to CEC
Representatives of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders For Free Election”, co-run by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center “Viasna”, have written to the CEC head Lidziya Yarmoshyna, offering their assistance in the work of an expert group formed to review the OSCE ODIHR recommendations on improving the electoral process in Belarus.
12.02.2016 Viasna protests dissolution of Agora NGO in Russia
The Human Rights Center "Viasna" expresses its protest against a court order to close down a known Russian human rights organization Agora.
10.02.2016 A Heart That Never Dies available online (video)
A film about human rights defender Ales Bialiatski from the documentary series A Heart That Never Dies by filmmakers Erling Borgen of Norway and Tom Heinemann of Denmark is available online.
09.02.2016 Miklós Haraszti: “No changes in dismal human rights situation since presidential election” in Belarus
GENEVA (9 February 2016) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Miklós Haraszti, today warned that opposition leaders, human rights activists, journalists, and many other citizens have been subjected to harassment, administrative procedures and fines since the October presidential election.
03.02.2016 Zhanna Litvina and Ales Bialiatski meet with EU representatives in Brussels
Ales Bialiatski, Chairman of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights, together with Zhanna Litvina, ex-chair and Board member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, have met in Brussels with Helga Schmid, Deputy Secretary General for the European External Action Service, and Stavros Lambrinidis, EU Special Representative for Human Rights, as well as a number of ambassadors of European countries to the European Union and other EU representatives in charge of human rights issues and European neighborhood policy.
02.02.2016 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: January 2016
The month was marked by certain negative trends, indicating the deterioration of the human rights situation in comparison with the last three months of 2015.
29.01.2016 Arrest of Ales Bialiatski’s property cancelled
On January 28, Viasna leader Ales Bialiatski received a letter from the department of compulsory execution of Minsk’s Partyzanski district in response to his appeal against a decision to arrest part of his Minsk apartment where he lives with his family.
28.01.2016 Concerted position by Belarusian human rights organisations on priorities in shaping the strategy of international partners' relations with Belarus
We regard further improvement of the human rights situation as a top priority for both Belarusian human rights defenders and international partners in shaping the strategy for relations with Belarus.
24.01.2016 Human Rights Situation in Belarus in 2015. Analytical review
In general, in 2015 there were no systemic changes aimed at qualitative improvement of the human rights situation in the country. Basic civil and political rights were still limited at the legislative level. Despite the overall decline in the scale of repression, the level of control over society remained extremely high.
