16.05.2011 Barysau organization of United Civil Party appeals December search

The organization applied to the Minsk Region Procuracy with the request to check the legality of the warrant of the senior investigator of the Minsk City and Region KGB Department, justice captain A.Darashevich for searching the office of the Barysau town UCP organizatioin, and the legality of actions of the policemen who had conducted the search.

16.05.2011 Procuracy wants to interrogate Ivan Shyla concerning the terrorist act in the Minsk metro

Uladzimir Shyla, father of the young activist, was informed about it by Ihar Masliak, investigator of especially important cases in the Minsk region. On 11 May the investigator phoned to the Shylas and asked about the whereabouts of the elder of the Shyla brothers, Ivan. However, he refused to tell the reasons for his interest. Though it is not a secret that Ivan studies in Poland, the investigator was very eager to receive a written confirmation from the parents.

16.05.2011 Homel: opposition activist Uladzimir Niapomniashchykh detained

The oppositionist was detained in the centrer of Homel and guarded to the Tsentralny District Police Department. He managed to tell Vasil Paliakou, Chair of the Homel regional organization of the United Civil Party, about his detention.The oppositionist was detained in the centrer of Homel and guarded to the Tsentralny District Police Department. He managed to tell Vasil Paliakou, Chair of the Homel regional organization of the United Civil Party, about his detention.

During the detention Mr. Niapomniashchykh was wearing a badge I 'll buy instable currency and a T-shirt with the inscription For Belarus without Lukashenka.

Procuracy wants to interrogate Ivan Shyla concerning the terrorist act in the Minsk metro

Uladzimir Shyla, father of the young activist, was informed about it by Ihar Masliak, investigator of especially important cases in the Minsk region. On 11 May the investigator phoned to the Shylas and asked about the whereabouts of the elder of the Shyla brothers, Ivan. However, he refused to tell the reasons for his interest. Though it is not a secret that Ivan studies in Poland, the investigator was very eager to receive a written confirmation from the parents.

On 12 May Masliak came to their home and told that the investigation was looking for Ivan Shyla in connection with the blast in the Minsk metro. At first he wanted to force the father to give a non-disclosure undertaking. However, he failed to determine Uladzimir's status in the case, and therefore had to refuse from his plan.

The investigator also said that the procuracy may send a request for interrogation of Ivan Shyla by the Polish police.

“The procuracy also wants Ivan to come to them on his arrival in Belarus. I promised to ask him about it, if the investigator guarantees that my son won't be detained on the border because of “staging a fight”, as it has happened to another political draftee, Ales Kalita, who also served in the same military unit with my son and the suspect in the terrorist act.”

It's worth mentioning that this day the parents also received a summons to the Salihorsk District Procuracy. However, the status of their son and the case on which they were summonsed weren't specified. It may seem unimportant to someone, but this fact puts to doubt the whole investigation into the terrorist act in the Minsk metro, as officers of the procuracy can hardly investigate such a case properly if they are unable even to exercise standard documents in conformity with the legal standards.

Human Rights Chronicle

16.05.2011 Andrei Sannikau was tortured and threatened in KGB prison

On 13 May the trial of Andrei Sannikau, a presidential candidate, continued at the Partyzanski District Court of Minsk. The defendant told about threats of the KGB Chairman Zaitsau (Zajtsev) and about tortures in the KGB remand prison.

16.05.2011 Bitter Winter in Belarus

The FIDH 7-minute film Bitter Winter in Belarus denounces the violent repression exercised by the Belarus authorities against all the dissident voices that have protested against the rigging of the December 19, 2010 presidential elections.

13.05.2011 We invite you to join the discussion of the Strategy of Belarusian Human Rights Movement

The draft Strategy of Belarusian Human Rights Movement was adopted by the 2nd Belarusian human rights forum in September 2010. But the dramatic events of 19-20 December 2010 changed the situation in Belarus drastically, they became a challenge for the human rights community. Cruel violence against the electoral process participants, the oppression of civil society in the country, violence against the opposition politicians and participants of the peaceful protest, the maximum limitation of the rights and freedoms— all that required from the Belarusian human rights activists to strengthen their activity and to work on a new level. Under these circumstances, the expert group considered it extremely important to renew a broad discussion regarding a strategy on which the fulfilment of our common mission can be based in the current situation. We are publishing the draft Strategy as a starting point for this discussion.

12.05.2011 Criminal case against Salihorsk anarchists

One of the main episodes of the criminal case against Salihorsk anarchists is the assault on a police station in Salihorsk on 9 March 2010. The offenders broke the windows and threw in a pyrotechnic device. Anarchists openly took responsibility for the action and even uploaded a video to the Internet. The reasons for the action were unlawful actions of the local police and driving a local human rights defender Yana Paliakova to suicide (she hanged herself after being sentenced to imprisonment for political reasons).

12.05.2011 Family of political prisoner Aliaksandr Klaskouski is on the brink of powerty

His wife and three children have to survive on a state welfare equal to 60 US dollars per month.

12.05.2011 Criminal cases of participants of 19 December post-election protest action: verdict to Daronin, Fedarkevich, Kazakou, Loban, Matsukevich and Sakret

On 12 May Alena Shylko, Judge of the Maskouski District Court of Minsk, pronounced the sentences to six participants of the post-election protest action of 19 December 2010 in Minsk.

12.05.2011 Homel: fine to Vasil Paliakou left standing

On 11 May Dzmitry Uloha, Judge of the Homel Regioon Court considered the appeal of Vasil Paliakou, Chair of the Homel region organization of the United Civil Party, against the fine that had been imposed on him by the Savetski District Court of Homel, and left the previous verdict in force.

12.05.2011 Navapolatsk: three civil activists detained, one of them – fined for “using obscene language”

At 7 p.m. on 11 May the police detained three Navapolatsk activists, Illia Bahdanau, Viktar Kalesnik and Yauhen Parchynski, and guarded them to the Navapolatsk Town Police Department.

12.05.2011 Courts give runaround to appeal against picket ban

Mikalai Ulasevich, a civil activist from the village of Varniany (situated in the Astravets district of the Hrodna region), received a negative reply to his appeal against the ban of the anti-nuclear picket Chernobyl-Fukushima-Astravets: do we need it? The letter is singed by Aliaksandr Hrynkevich, Chair of the Hrodna Region Court. According to the document, the appeal was forwarded to the Astravets District Court.

12.05.2011 Uta Zapf denied entry to Belarus

Uta Zapf, Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Ad Hoc Working Group of Belarus, intended to come to Belarus to attend the trial of the presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich.

12.05.2011 Grim record: 27 participants of 19 December post-election rally are being tried

On 11 May the Zavadski District Court of Minsk started trying the criminal case under Article 342, “organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate the public order, or active participation in such actions”, brought against Iryna Khalip, Siarhei Martsaleu and Pavel Seviarynets.

12.05.2011 Students of European Humanities University detained by police till 4 a.m.

On 10 May evening the students of the European Humanities University Katsiaryna Klimko (who had served 10-day arrest for participation in the 19 December post-election protest action in Minsk) and Natallia Drylenka were detained by police in the Minsk metro.