The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for April 2011

18.04.2011 Baranavichy authorities ban Chernobyl remembrance picket

Baranavichy town executive committee banned a picket marking the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster scheduled for 26 April.

18.04.2011 Minsk police reportedly beat innocent person

Minsk resident Ihar Rylkou was reportedly beaten and taken to the nearest police station on 13 April in one of the capital’s residential areas.

18.04.2011 Aliaksandr Atroshchankau transferred to labour brigade after illness

Andrej Sannikau's spokesman was visited by his parents in the colony.

18.04.2011 Weekly review of post-election situation in Belarus (11-17 April)

The past week was marred by a terrible tragedy that made all other events fall by the wayside: on 11 April Minsk Kastrychnitskaya central metro station was rocked by a powerful blast, claiming 13 lives and causing injuries to over 200 more people. April 13 was declared a national day of morning. The explosion was qualified as an act of terrorism, the news that shocked Belarus as it had always been thought of as a rather safe country. On 12 April, a PACE meeting in Strasbourg considered the scheduled Belarusian issues, which was condemned by the official media, who labeled the human rights defenders attending the meeting as “a fifth column”, naming their actions “dance on bones”. However, the state-run media failed to mention a one-minute silence that opened the PACE session. A number of Belarusian politicians and journalists, including opposition leader Aliaksandr Milinkevich, independent columnist Aliaksandr Starykevich and former KGB officer Valery Kostka, were officially warned by the General Prosecutor’s Office for alleged dissemination of “ungrounded data on the 11 April tragedy.” Furthermore, the Information Ministry issued similar warnings to the Nasha Niva and Narodnaya Volya independent periodicals, together with the UzHorak minor local newspaper. Several case files of persons involved in the 19 December 2010 events were submitted to courts. Civil activists kept campaigning for the release of journalist Andrzej Poczobut, arrested on charges of libel of the President.

15.04.2011 Babruisk: journalist Anatol Sanatsenka tells about pressurization by procuracy

Anatol Sanatsenka, editor of the electronic socio-political newspaper Babruiski Kur’yer, made a statement concerning pressurization exercised by the procuracy:

15.04.2011 Support political prisoners with letters!

We publish the mail addresses of the participants of the 19 December post-election protest rally who were convicted for “mass rioting” and are serving prison terms.

15.04.2011 Mournful action in Pinsk

On 14 April residents of Pinsk held a mournful action dedicated to victims of the 11 April terrorist act in Minsk. The action took place in a small square which was created to mark the day of the town. People lit candles near a symbolic chapel.

15.04.2011 Parliaemntary Assembly of the Council of Europe urges US, Japan and Belarus to abolish the death penalty

On 14 April the Assembly today urged the US and Japan, as observer states to the Council of Europe, and Belarus, which aspires to membership, to join the growing consensus among democratic countries that protect human rights and human dignity by abolishing the death penalty. In a resolution based on a report by Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD), PACE said: “The European experience has shown conclusively that the death penalty is not needed to check violent crime, and that political leaders who led the way towards abolition did not suffer any backlash from public opinion.”

14.04.2011 Horki: socio-political newspaper Uzgorak warned by Ministry of Information

On 14 April the chief editor of the newspaper, Halina Budnaya, received an appropriate letter from the ministry. According to it, the warning is issued for a number of reasons. The first of them is the failure of the newspaper staff to inform the ministry about the change of the editor after the death of the previous one, well-known journalist and civil activist Eduard Brokarau. The other ones are the absence of the bar-code in several issues of the newspaper and alleged violations in the activities of the internet version of the newspaper.

14.04.2011 Babruisk citizens start collecting signatures against construction of Nuclear Power Station

On 13 April representatives of the democratic forces of Babruisk began collecting signatures under the appeal to President Aliaksandr Lukashenka requiring to stop building the nuclear power plant in Belarus and to restrict the access to all types of radioactive substances into the territory of our country.

14.04.2011 Salihorsk authorities ban pickets for stability and president

Aliaksandr Rymasheuski, Chair of the Salihorsk District Executive Committee, banned the pickets For Stability, For Our President and Against Picket Bans which a democratic activist Uladzimir Shyla wanted to hold in the only place where such actions are allowed by the local authorities – the Budaunik stadium on 15-16 April.

14.04.2011 Police detain journalist present at mournful action in Maladechna

On 13 April an unauthorized mournful action dedicated to the terrorist act in the Minsk metro took place near St. Joseph’s Church in Maladechna. Invitations to this action were distributed through social nets. About one hundred Maladechna residents gathered for the action. No speeches were delivered, people just stood silent for some time.

14.04.2011 Mahiliou builders forced to take part in subbotnik

Subbotniks are a well-known Soviet tradition which is being revived by the Belarusian authorities. Usually they are held on Saturdays and the people who take part in them (usually on “voluntary” basis aren’t paid any money for their work).

14.04.2011 Mahiliou Region Court leaves Dzmitry Salauyou in KGB register

On 14 April the Mahiliou Region Court considered the appeal of a civil activist Dzmitry Salauyou against the verdict of the Leninski District Court which left in force the warning issued to him by the KGB for participation in the 19 December protest rally in Minsk and organization of the street actions in Mahiliou that “could result in mass riot”.

14.04.2011 7 participants of 19 December post-election protest rally to be tried together

The criminal cases against some of the accused of the “mass riot” have been passed to the Leninski District Court of Minsk and will be considered soon. It concerns the cases presidential candidates Dzmitry Uss and Mikalai Statkevich, the participants of the rally on the Nezalezhnasts Square Dzmitry Bulanau, Artsiom Hrybko, Aliaksandr Klaskouski, Aliaksandr Kviatkevich and Andrei Pazniak will be considered by in the nearest future.