The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for November 2009

09.11.2009 Preventive arrest of ‘Young Front’ leaders in Minsk

The Young Front activists Mikalai Dzemidzenka and Anastasia Palazhanka were detained in Minsk on 7 November. They were going to hold a street action under the slogan ‘Tribunal for Communism’.

09.11.2009 Investigation of ‘Vaukavysk case’ extended again

The investigation of the criminal case of entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk Mikalai Autukhovich and Uladzimir Asipenka has been extended till 8 December.

06.11.2009 Andrei Pachobut: ‘The authorities use the police and the KGB to make people refuse from membership in the Union of Poles. They are testing the reaction of the West.’

In November the EU will consider the issue on re-imposing the sanctions against the Belarusian authorities. One of the conditions put to the official Minsk by the international community is securing the rights and freedoms of the Belarusian citizens belonging to national minorities. This condition was introduced on the initiative of Poland and is a result of the complicated situation around the Union of Poles in Belarus, headed by Anzhalika Borys.

06.11.2009 Ministry of Information denied registration to ‘Maryinahorskaya’ newspaper

The Ministry of Information returned to the founder of the non-state sociopolitical regional newspaper Maryinahorskaya the document that were filed for the state registration of the edition.

06.11.2009 Christos Pourgourides not let in Belarus

The PACE deputy Christos Pourgourides was invited to the Belarusian European Forum held on 14 November in Minsk.

06.11.2009 Hunger-striker Bandarenka placed to prison hospital

The businessman Andrei Bandarenka started his hunger-strike on 19 October. He protests against the verdict issued by the Pershamaiski district court of Minsk.

06.11.2009 Believer fined for defending his right to alternative army service

A believer from Jehovah's Witnesses community has been punished by a huge fine for demanding the realization of his right to alternative military service.

06.11.2009 Biaroza: journalists detained at ‘Nioman’ glass plant

Policemen detained journalists Aloaksandr Dzianisau and Aliaksandr Khilimon at the glass plant Nioman.

05.11.2009 Innocent man spend 14 months in jail because of ‘judicial negligence’

The state has to pay a compensation to Leanid Tarasenka who was sentenced to five years of jail being innocent. In addition, at present the prosecutor’s office can start legal proceedings against the policeman who had brought the criminal case against the victim.

05.11.2009 Pavel Sapelka: ‘The state must take the responsibility for the results of breeding its citizens’

The lawyer Pavel Sapelka joined the campaign Human Rights Defenders against Death Penalty and signed the petition to the Belarusian authorities with the demand to abolish the death penalty in the country.

05.11.2009 Independent trade unions go to the law

The Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions filed an unprecedented lawsuit on the elimination of adverse discrimination of members of independent trade unions in the sphere of labor relations.

05.11.2009 ‘BelSat’ director not let in Belarus again

Agzieszka Romaszewska, who was going to Minsk on the invitation of the organizers of Minsk Forum XII on 4 November as a guest of honor, was denied the Belarusian visa.

04.11.2009 Ales Mekh complains about police actions

The civil and political activist Ales Mekh filed to Kobryn district court a complaint about actions of the police during the Dazhynki celebration on 19 September 2009.

04.11.2009 Valiantsin Sukala refused to discuss judicial runarounds with women’s initiative for the fifth time

On 2 November the head of the Supreme Court Valiantsin Sukala for the first time refused to discuss the problem of judicial runarounds with a group of women who disagreed with the court verdicts on civil and criminal cases against themselves or their relatives.