The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for December 2008

03.12.2008 Pickets near monuments to Lenin are banned

Minsk city executive committee didn’t permit holding a picket near a monument to Vladimir Lenin in Independence square on 8 December.

03.12.2008 Polatsk: police detain participants of action in support of political prisoner Barazenka

A young activist from Polatsk Ales Krutkin and two his fellow activists planned to hold a rally in support of political prisoner Alexander Barazenka.

03.12.2008 Democratic activist Ihar Salavei is… wanted

It has been found out today that activist of the For Freedom movement Ihar Salavei is put on the wanted list. He learnt it when he came to the Pinsk military enlistment office.

02.12.2008 Astravets: police detain civil activists on the way to nuclear power station building site

The leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka, a journalist Vadzim Kaznacheyeu and a leader of the youth wing of the UCP, ‘Young Democrats’, Alexander Serhiyenka, have been detained in Astravets.

02.12.2008 Brest: lying picket is dispersed

A citizen of Brest Zhana Abramava protested against her unlawful eviction from the inherited apartment at the central square of Brest, opposite the building of Brest city executive committee. The civil activists Yury Bakur and Ivan Stasiuk participated in the picket as well.

02.12.2008 Chavusy: activists collect signatures against construction of nuclear power plant

Activists of Horki-based initiative ‘Anti-nuclear group’ resumed collection of signatures against the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus.

02.12.2008 Vitsebsk: human rights activist is not allowed to hold pickets

Pavel Levinau, activist of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, intended to hold a number of pickets dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Human Rights Declaration. He addressed Vitsebsk authorities with the request to authorize the actions and received a refusal signed by the deputy head of Vitsebsk city executive committee Pavel Losich.

02.12.2008 Minsk: action of solidarity with political prisoner Barazenka

An action of solidarity with political prisoner Alexander Barazenka was traditionally held near the prison in Valadarski Street of Minsk yesterday.

01.12.2008 Reporters Without Borders call Belarusian authorities not to increase surveillance of Internet

Reporters Without Borders has learned that two independent newspapers that were dropped from official distribution networks for criticizing the government - the weekly Narodnaya Volia and the fortnightly Nasha Niva - yesterday signed contracts that will allow them to appear in the state postal monopoly Belposhta’s newspaper subscription catalogue and to be on sale in the state-owned Belsayuzdruk’s chain of newsstands.

01.12.2008 Lukashenka signed law on protection of information

On 10 November Alexander Lukashenka signed the law On Information, Informatization, and Information Protection. It was published on 26 November and will come into force six months after the publication.

01.12.2008 Authorities disrupt fest in honor of Slutsk uprising

The owner of a Minsk club, where anniversary of the historical event was planned to be marked, was ordered to cancel a lease contract by secret service officers.

01.12.2008 Criminal cases against Yury Karetnikau and Mikhail Sharamet are terminated

On 21 November the former leader of the Right Alliance Yury Karetnikau received a letter from the office of the Prosecutor General. He was informed that the criminal case against him had been terminated.

01.12.2008 Court marshals seize Skrabets’ property again

The court marshals seized property from a former MP Siarhei Skrabets for the second time. They confiscated a kitchen unit, a sofa and other things for a total amount of 600 000 Belarusian rubles (about $282).