The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for March 2010

04.03.2010 Supreme Court upholds registration denial to ‘Zalaty Leu’

The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Hrodna oblast court concerning the non-registration of the Slonim NGO Zalaty Leu. On 4 March the Civil Cases College Board of the Supreme Court, presided by Judge Valer Samaliu, considered the complaint lodged by the Zalaty Leu founders and found the verdict of the Hrodna oblast court well-grounded and the registration denial – legal.

04.03.2010 Spoiled holiday

The students who had taken part in the festival of the Belarusian language were made to write explanatory notes concerning the event. It was the first year when the festival was organized officially.

04.03.2010 Vitsebsk: BCD members face obstacles while collecting signatures

Uladzimir Ramanovich, who runs to the Vitsebsk city Soviet of Deputies and collects signatures on his own, was not let in dormitory #3 of Vitsebsk Technological University. The dormitory supervisor didn’t manage to explain Mr. Ramanovich what legal grounds she had for banning him from entering the dormitory. Following this incident, Uladzimir Ramanovich lodged a complaint with the Central Election Commission.

04.03.2010 Mahiliou: Leanid Padbiaretski hasn’t been allowed to collect signatures in student dormitory yet

Leanid Padbiaretski, pretender to candidate, is still waiting for the permission of the administration of Mahiliou State University to collect signatures at student dormitory.

04.03.2010 KGB interrogated ‘Young Front’ activist Kasia Dalidovich

An activist of the Young Front Kasia Dalidovich was interrogated by a KGB officer in the dean’s office of the informational and documentary communications department of the University of Culture.

04.03.2010 Mahiliou oblast: signatures are passed to election commissions

As said on 3 March by Liudmila Makaranka, secretary of the Mahiliou oblast election commission, the territorial and constituency election commissions of the Mahiliou oblast received 1,271 packets of documents for registration of candidates.

04.03.2010 Hlybokaye: military enlistment office tries to draw potential candidate to military training

In Hlybokaye, the initiative group of Zmitser Lupach, representative of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party, actively collects signatures for nomination of his candidacy to the Hlybokaye city Soviet of Deputies. Meanwhile, the local military enlistment office sent him a writ to arrive to the military trainings that would be held in the town of Baravukha on 5-30 April.

04.03.2010 Investigation into Siarhei Kavalenka’s criminal case is over

On 3 March the Bureau of preliminary investigations of the Vitsebsk oblast police department informed Siarhei Kavalenka about the end of the investigation of the criminal case instigated against him for hanging out a white-red-white flag on the main New Year Tree of Vitsebsk. Now Kavalenka has a month for familiarization with the case materials. The case consists of three volumes that were composed in turn by three investigators – Tatsiana Turlayeva, Aksana Muravitskaya and Andrei Baranau.

03.03.2010 Hrodna oblast election commission didn’t grant Raman Yurhel’s complaint

The Hrodna oblast territorial election commission considered the complaint lodged by Raman Yurhel against the refusal of the constituency commission to register him as an observer.

03.03.2010 Brest: six multistoried buildings ‘went missing’ during determination of boundaries of election constituencies

The Brest human rights defender Siarhei Vakulenka turned the attention of the authorities to the fact that multistoried houses 56, 57, 61, 62 and 63 in Mitskevich Street and house 52/1 in Kirau Street weren’t mentioned in the decision of the Brest city executive committee determining the boundaries of the city constituencies on elections t the Brest city Soviet of Deputies of the 26th Convocation.

03.03.2010 Hrodna: independent observer harassed at work

Independent observer Sviatlana Rudkouskaya was nominated to the Praletarskaya constituency election commission #17 on elections to the Hrodna oblast Soviets of Deputies as an observer from the Belarusian Helsinki Committee.

03.03.2010 Election commission issued two warnings to Yury Karetnikau

On 2 March the Maskouski district election commission in Minsk issued two warnings to the leader of the Right Alliance Yury Karetnikau, an independent candidate. One of the warnings was issued for ‘untimely agitation of electors’ and the other – for printing of what the commission called ‘agitation materials’.

03.03.2010 Orsha district: political parties start nominating representatives to precinct election commissions

Political parties started nominating their representatives of precinct commission in the Orsha district. The Belarusian Party of Leftists Fair World was the first to submit to the Orsha town executive committee and the Orsha district executive committee the minutes of its plenum.

03.03.2010 Initiative group of Ivan Kruk was registered

The Hrodna oblast election commission reversed the decision of the Astravets district election commission concerning the registration denial to the initiative group of Ivan Kruk who intended to run for the Astravets district Soviet of Deputies at the Shkolnaya election constituency #2.