The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for May 2010

05.05.2010 Inter-Parliamentary Union reminds authorities about disappearance of Hanchar and Krasouski

The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union unanimously adopted the resolution on disappeared Belarusian opposition leaders.

05.05.2010 Belarusian internet cafes bound to store users’ browsing history

This requirement is contained in the decree of the government number 647 of 29 April 2010.

04.05.2010 Zmitser Salauyou complaints to General Procuracy about search

Human rights defender Zmitser Salauyou lodged with the General Procuracy a complaint about actions of the police officers who had searched on 3 May an apartment owned by him.

04.05.2010 Believer Ivan Mikhailau acquitted

On 4 May in the morning the Minsk District Court announced the verdict on the criminal case instigated against Ivan Mikhailau, who allegedly evaded from military service. Judge Viachaslau Tupeika acquitted Mikhailau, who had been previously sentenced to 3 months of jail for evading from military service.

04.05.2010 Mahiliou: detention of Krystsina Shatsikava

On 4 May in the afternoon a civil activist Krystsina Shatsikava was detained near the porch of her house in Mahiliou. She was approached by police officers who noticed her large bags and said that an apartment had been robbed nearby. Then they invited witnesses and searched the bags.

03.05.2010 Public statement by Human Rights Center ‘Viasna’ concerning search at Zmitser Salauyou’s office in Navapolatsk

On 30 April the police searched the private office of the human rights defender Zmitser Salauyou in Navapolatsk. The search was sanctioned by the town procurator, Anatol Ausiuk, and V.Karenski, Chair of the operative crime detection activities section of the investigation department of the Navapolatsk Town Police Department, within the frames of the criminal case instigated under Article 341 of the Criminal Code – ‘Defilement of buildings and destruction of property’ on the fact of inscriptions with swastikas on walls of different houses of the town. Computer system units, CDs, many printed editions and white-red-flags were confiscated as a result of the search.

03.05.2010 Police apologized and paid 100,000 rubles as compensation

The transport police of Babruisk offered official apologies to Taisiya Kabanchuk, activist of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party, for the violent actions of policemen on 25 March. The woman also received from them 100,000 Belarusian rubles as a compensation for an unused railway ticket and broken glasses.

03.05.2010 Activists of BPF Party are summonsed to procuracy in connection with car tax referendum

Recently, several activists of the Belarusian Popular Front Party have been summonsed to the procuracy concerning one of the party’s initiatives. BPF wants to initiate a nationwide referendum on the question ‘Do You support the keeping of the tax for import of cars on the level of 26 November 2009?’ and have lodged documents with the Central Election Commission for registration of an appropriate initiative group. The commission must give its answer by 4 May.

03.05.2010 Brest: police accuse BCD activist Zmitser Shurkhai of theft

On 30 April Andrei Bychyk, a police inspector of the Maskouski District Police Department of Brest, phoned to Zmitser Shurkhai, an activist of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party, to invite him to the police department as a suspect in the theft that was witnessed by an anonymous person who had phoned to the police lately.

03.05.2010 Another registration attempt by ‘Berastseiskaya Viasna’

The human rights NGO Berastseiskaya Viasna makes another attempt to get registered with the state. A constituent assembly took place in Brest, at which representatives from all districts of the Brest region were present. The first registration attempt took place in 2004. However, the NGO was denied registration, as well as during the next four attempts.

03.05.2010 Activists of ‘Speak Truth’ campaign interrogated about 4 July explosion

10 activists of the Speak Truth civil campaign were detained on 3 May in the Peramohi Square in Minsk for coming there with air balloons with the campaign logo.

03.05.2010 Another criminal case concerning Charter’97

The General Procuracy of Belarus allegedly discovered insults and defamation in comments to articles at www.charter97.org website. It has been stated today at a press-conference by a journalist of charter97.org website Natallia Radzina.