The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for August 2008

07.08.2008 Brest KGB considers actions towards Alexander Mekh legal

On 6 August a potential candidate at the parliamentary elections, the head of Kobryn town organization of the Belarusian Popular Front Party Alexander Mekh received an answer to his complaint to the KGB.

07.08.2008 Can members of electoral commission use laptops?

Yury Meliashkevich, the member of Yaseninskaya district electoral commission #100, activist of the For Freedom movement has addressed the Central Electoral Commission with an inquiry concerning the prohibition on use of laptops to members of his commission.

07.08.2008 Barysau: MP’s aide helps collecting signatures in working time

As Ihar Lednik, the head of the initiative group of Anatol Bukas (editor of the non-state newspaper Barysauskiya Naviny) many citizens of Barysau refuse to give his signatures in support of Bukas because that had already signed for the candidacy of Viktar Huminski at work.

07.08.2008 Brest oblast: oppositionists still interrogated in ‘Minsk blast’ case

When Alexander Chorny, the first secretary of Kobryn town committee of the Party of Communists of Belarusian, signed out of the hospital he was visited by police officers who brought a ‘questioning blank’ with them.

07.08.2008 Minsk: district electoral commissions have ‘consultants’ at district administrations

Representatives of district executive committees of Minsk receive ‘consultations’ from state authorities resulting in lawless restriction of observers’ rights.

07.08.2008 ‘Narodnaya Volia’ confiscated from members of Yaraslau Ramanchuk’s initiative group

On 5 August in Hrodna the police detained the civil activists Yury Istomin and Zmitser Slutski, who were collecting signatures for nomination of Yaraslau Ramanchuk a candidate to the Chamber of Rerepsentatives (lower chamber of the Belarusian parliament), and confiscated from the detainees six sheaves of Narodnaya Volia newspaper.

07.08.2008 Shklou: pressurization of Ryhor Kastusiou continues

Ryhor Kastusiou, the head of Mahiliou organization of the Belarusian Popular Front Party and candidate to the Chamber of Representatives, has received a letter from A.Pabortsau, the head of the financial investigations department of the State Control Committee, with the demand to provide an income declaration for 2005-2007. The same letters were received by Kastusiou’s wife, son and elder daughter. The politician is of the opinion that such letters are sent to his family because of his participation in the electoral campaign.

06.08.2008 Committee to Protect Journalists urges President Lukashenka to reconsider repressive media law

The Committee to Protect Journalists is troubled to learn that President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a restrictive new media law, which, according to CPJ research, will allow authorities to further restrict press freedom in Belarus.

06.08.2008 Vitsebsk oblast: obstacles to initiative group of Tatsiana Seviarynets

While collecting signatures for oppositional candidate Tatsiana Seviarynets, the members of her initiative group faced different problems. One of them is that the members of the initiative group of the pro-governmental candidate Henadz Hrytskevich lied to the electors that they had the right to sign only for one candidate.

06.08.2008 Supreme Court upholds registration denial to ‘For Freedom’ movement

Today the Supreme Court has ruled to reject the suit of the movement For Freedom on the basis of a technical mistake in the guarantee letter of the organization which agreed to provide legal address for it.

06.08.2008 44 MPs to run for the second time

44 present deputies of the Chamber of Representatives have registered their initiative groups for collection of signatures giving them the opportunity to run for a seat at the Parliament again. The candidacies of two more deputies were nominated by working collectives. This information was made public by the head of the Central Electoral Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna.

06.08.2008 Babruisk: state media praise pro-governmental candidates

In Babruisk there started hidden agitation for pro-governmental nominees to the Parliament. For instance, the newspaper Babruiskaye Zhyttsio (founded by Babruisk town executive committee) published an interview with the chief engineer of the open stock company Belshyna Uladzimir Karpiak, running at Babruisk Pershamaiskaya electoral district. The interview is quite large and tells about his work, family and hobbies, which looks like electoral advertisement of Karpiak. At the same time, unhidden agitation against democratic and oppositional candidates can be found in the newspaper.

06.08.2008 Baranavichy: anonymous thanks to pro-governmental candidate

In Baranavichy the state newspaper Nash Krai (#91 for 5 August 2008) published another article about general Vankovich, who is a deputy now and intends to run for a seat at the Parliament again. This time it was made on behalf of some Dzmitry Mikhalavich (surname unknown).

06.08.2008 Baranavichy: state media agitate for pro-governmental candidates

No agitation is permitted by the law at the present stage of the electoral campaign. However, the state media often publish materials about pro-governmental candidates.

06.08.2008 Homel police interrogates observer in blast case

The ‘main witness’ in the case of the blast in Minsk was interrogated on Monday. However, democratic activists continue to be summonsed to Savetski district police department of Homel for ‘talks’. On 4 August at 8 pm a police officer phoned to Uladzimir Shytsikau, an observer at electoral district #33. The policeman did not introduce himself, but invited Shytsikau to the police department as a witness in the ‘blast’ case.