The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for March 2012

05.03.2012 Brest authorities ban another picket in support of Ales Bialiatski

The official reason for the refusal to authorize the picket was that its organizer, human rights defender Uldadzimir Vialichkin, hadn't concluded service agreements with police, medics and public utilities.

02.03.2012 Liubou Kavaliova: “They cheated me. I wasn’t allowed to meet with my son”

Liubou Kavaliova, the mother of Uladzislau Kavaliou, sentenced to death for the involvement in the terrorist act of 11 April 2011, wanted to use her right to meet her son. She didn’t manage to come to the meeting in January, and wasn’t allowed to meet him in February.

02.03.2012 Lawyer inquiry submitted to Bahusheusk tuberculosis hospital

The Vitsebsk coordinator of the steering committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Tatsiana Seviarynets is worried about the state of one of the patients, Valery Hancharenka, who is currently kept in the psychiatric department. He was placed there after telling journalists about the unbearable conditions and violations of the patients' rights at the hospital.

02.03.2012 Zinaida Mikhniuk applies to Supreme Court

On 8 October 2011 Zinaida Mikhniuk, an organizer of the People's Assembly in Brest, was preventively detained by the police before the event. She was subsequently charged with “using foul language” and fined 70,000 rubles by court, which ignored the testimonies of a woman who saw the detention.

02.03.2012 BCD steering committee sues administration of Culture Palace

The lawsuit of the steering committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party against the administration of the Culture Palace of Minsk City Tractor Plant will be considered by at the Partyzanski District Court of Minsk at 11 a.m. on 19 March.

02.03.2012 Andrei Bandarenka's laptop found at KGB

A laptop seized from Andrei Bandarenka on the border was found at the KGB. Human rights activists from “Platform” organization learned this information from the Brest customs office, RFE/RL reports.

01.03.2012 Supreme Court doesn’t respond to review appeals of political prisoners

The activists of the anarchist movement who had been sentenced to prison terms and declared prisoners of conscience, filed review appeals against their verdict.

01.03.2012 Baranavichy authorities refuse to change their mind

A group of Baranavichy residents asked the Baranavichy City Executive Committee to review its ruling #1497 of 16 January 2009 and #2497 of 5 October 2009 for their de-bureaucratization. The appropriate appeal, filed in February, was signed by 56 people.

01.03.2012 Minsk: mail correspondence restrictions applied to Ivan Shyla

The parents of Ivan Shyla, the “Young Front” activist who is serving a 22-day prison term in the delinquents’ isolation center in Akrestsin Street in Minsk, received only two out of the three letters he had sent them. Fellow activist from Salihorsk, who had sent letters of support to him, received them back with the mark “doesn’t reside”.

01.03.2012 Babruisk: civil activist summonsed to police

Artsiom Markhasiou was summonsed to the police in the evening of 29 February. The reason was that the police allegedly wanted to specify some details concerning the administrative case that had been instigated against him and three more people for lighting candles on Dziady, the Ancestors' Day.

01.03.2012 New restrictions of political prisoners' rights

According to Volha Bandarenka, the wife of European Belarus civil campaign coordinator Zmitser Bandarenka, who was an election agent for presidential candidate Andrei Sannikau at the 2010 election, her husband has faced stronger information isolation. Earlier, she received letters on political and philosophical themes from him that were published by websites and newspapers, but now only letters about his daily routine are delivered. She talked about this at a round table discussion “Political prisoners are our pain” organized by “For Freedom!” coordination group, BelSat reports.