The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for November 2007

08.11.2007 Hrodna: Prosecutor’s Office Pressurizes Journalist Ivan Roman again

On 8 November the journalist Ivan Roman was summonsed to the prosecutor’s office of Hrodna. The prosecutor presented to him a print-out from Roman’s telephone talks with the Bialystok office of the Polish Radio Racyja and asked whether the journalist was working for the radio without an accreditation. The journalist refused to answer. In his interview with RFE/RL he stated that he was not a correspondent of Radio Racyja. However, as a Belarusian citizen he sometimes comments different events for Racyja and other media.

05.11.2007 Niasvizh: Police Detain ‘Young Front’ Activists for Celebrating Vitushka’s Birthday

On 5 November in Niasvizh the police detained the activists of the Young Front Zmitser Banko, Illia and Ivan Shylas and Krystsina Samoylava. Later, near the district police department, they also seized the Young Front member Andrei Tychyna.

05.11.2007 Tsentralny Court of Homel Upholds Zhaleznichenka’s Expulsion from University

On 5 November the judge of Tsentralny court of Homel Alena Tsalkova turned up the complaint of the expelled third-year student of the mathematical faculty of Homel State University Zmitser Zhaleznichenka.

05.11.2007 Masty: Police Take Explanations from Aliaksandr Milinkevich

On 4 November, after a street meeting with the citizens of the town of Masty, the police took the politician Aliaksandr Milinkevich to a police station and demanded from him explanations concerning the event. They wanted to know whether it wasn’t an unauthorized mass action.

05.11.2007 Vintsuk Viachorka Detained on the Way to BPF Assembly in Hrodna

On 4 November the chair of the Belarusian People’s Front Party Vintsuk Viachorka was going to Hrodna to take part in the assembly of the BPF organizations of Hrodna district. On the way there the road police groundlessly detained the car by which he was driven to Hrodna. They explained the reasons for the detention with some ‘order’.

05.11.2007 Hunger Torture for Political Prisoner Andrei Klimau

The deputy of the Belarusian Supreme Council 13 collocation Andrei Klimau who serves a prison term for a political journalistic article is being starved in Mazyr high security correctional facility #20. Food is taken from him: pasta, potato mash, sausages, nuts, tea.

05.11.2007 Authorities Proceed from Bans to Provocations

Organizers of the Social March have summed up the results of the rally that took place on 4 November. ‘The authorities have broken away from bans and have proceeded to provocations. To use force against people who offer a dialogue is immoral. Moreover, the regime depends on the European economic programs, foreign credits today, and it’s the second reason why the regime has given up such hard line methods of communication with protesters as a paddy wagon and truncheon blows on the head,’ told the deputy chairman of the Belarusian People’s Front party Viktar Ivashkevich.

05.11.2007 Police Do Not Let Regional Activists to Minsk for Social March

On the eve of the Social March, similarly to any opposition rally, policemen blocked access to Minsk for regional opposition activists. ‘Policemen in mufti tried to enter my apartment on 4 November in the morning. I didn’t open the doors to them. They were continually standing near my house till 2 p.m., when the Social March ended in Minsk. They asked neighbors about me. I even couldn’t go shopping,’ said a democratic activist from Barysau Zmitser Barodka.

05.11.2007 Participant of Halloween Celebration Transferred from Prison to Hospital

Valiantsin Sakalouski, who was sentenced to 10 days of arrest on 2 November for having taken part in celebrating Halloween in Minsk, is placed to clinical hospital #11.

03.11.2007 Nasta Azarka Detained

The girl was detained while she was trying to hitch-hike to Minsk. At first, in the morning, she was detained in Niasvizh. She was taken to Niasvizh district police department and spent there an hour. Then he was put in a patrol car and the police started driving her around the town. When they went out to buy cigarettes she escaped from the car. Soon she was detained again. Now she is kept in Haradzeya district police department. No charges are given to her, but the policemen openly say that she would be kept there till the end of the Social March that is to take place on 4 November.

03.11.2007 Verdicts to Detained for ‘Social March’ Leaflets Distribution

The court of Kastrychnitski district of Minsk sentenced the applicant for holding the Social March Mikhail Pashkevich to 3 days of arrest. A youth activist Mikalai Serhiyenka was sentenced to 15 days of arrest by the court of Partyzanski district of Minsk. Judge Natallia Chatviartkova believes that he had violated article 23.34 of the Administrative Code (violation of rules of mass events).

03.11.2007 All Detained Halloween Participants Sentenced to Arrest

Tatsiana Lashkarova was the first to get a term. The judge of Savetski district court of Minsk Liudmila Savastsian sentenced the girl to 5 days of administrative arrest. Tatsiana said that the report of detention was not true. Young people were charged with petty hooliganism. Their appearance allegedly was an ‘outrage against public morality’.

03.11.2007 Attempt to Get Rehabilitation for Larysa Heniyush

On 1 November the Organizing Committee on Commemoration of Stalin repressions victims, the Union of Belarusian Writers, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee has sent a proposal to rehabilitate a well-known Belarusian poet Larysa Heniyush (Heniusz).

03.11.2007 Belarusian Social-Democratic Party ‘Narodnaya Hramada’ Cannot Rent Room for Constituent Assembly

The event is scheduled for 17 November. However, according to the leader of social-democrats Mikalai Statkevich, the party representatives cannot find a room to rent.

03.11.2007 ‘Perspective’ Activists Ask Permit for 19 November Meeting

According to the chair of the republican NGO Perspective Anatol Shumchanka, at present the main problems of entrepreneurs are connected with the enforcement of presidential decree #760 on 1 January 2008. Since that time individual entrepreneurs will not be able to employ workers except for close relatives. Even then the maximal number of employees is three.