The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for October 2012

19.10.2012 Orsha: Investigative Committee evades considering election fraud report

Election rigging reports have been redirected “for consideration on the merits” to Orsha town department of internal affairs, says a reply received by independent observers Mikalai Dziamidau and Yauhen Anishchanka from local office of the Investigative Committee.

19.10.2012 BCD campaigns for amending Healthcare Code

The activists of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party have addressed the Council of Ministers, Healthcare Ministry and the House of Representatives with over 2,000 signatures under a petition calling to amend the current Healthcare Code.

19.10.2012 Malaryta prosecutors ignore calls for invalidation of elections

On 1 October, Piotr Andryevich, former member of constituency election commission No. 8 and activist of the Belarusian Popular Front Party, submitted an appeal to the Prosecutor of Malaryta district urging the official to investigate election rigging allegations and recognize the voting results invalid.

19.10.2012 ARCHE Magazine Editor-in-Chief Fined, 5,000 Belarusian-Language Books Seized

Valier Bulhakau, editor-in-chief of Belarusian intellectual magazine ARCHE was fined with Br500,000 by Hrodna court. Furthermore, more than 5,000 books printed in 2000s were seized from his home in the village of Jurkavichy. All the books are printed in Belarusian language.

19.10.2012 “No to the Death Penalty!” in Mahiliou

An awareness-raising action against the death penalty was held in Mahiliou. The event was expected to be held on the eve of the World Day against the Death Penalty, 10 October. However, the volunteers who distributed stickers and posters of the “Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty” campaign were detained by the police.

19.10.2012 Ex-candidate harassed over interview to independent website

The law enforcement agencies of Astravets district keep harassing former candidate for Parliament Mikalai Ulasevich, who has already been subjected to arbitrary detention, a search and prosecution under administrative procedures on trumped-up charges.

19.10.2012 Ales Bialiatski faces restrictions on medical parcels

The imprisoned leader of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” Ales Bialiatski is facing obstacles in receiving parcels with medicines at penal colony No. 2 in Babruisk, Radio Racyja reports, quoting the human rights defender’s wife Natallia Pinchuk.

19.10.2012 Opposition activists get financial documents from Poland by regular mail

According to the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Poland's MFA mailed Belarusian opposition activists the documents which concerned taxes for the previously received incomes (there were small sums, the so-called "per diems" received by Belarusians). The documents were sent via express mail with the logo of the Ministry on the envelopes.

19.10.2012 Artist and Mentor Fired as His Art Project Called “Politically-Laden”

Mikhail Hulin, a mentor of Faculty of Architecture in Belarusian National Technical University, was fired from the job after he was detained for implementation of his project on Minsk streets.

18.10.2012 Baranavichy human rights defender appeals actions by police officials

Baranavichy human rights defender Siarhei Housha has submitted a complaint to the Minister of the Interior, appealing illegal actions by the officials of Baranavichy city police department and Brest police chiefs.

18.10.2012 Brest Regional Court turns down complaint against local officials

On 18 October, the Judicial Panel for Civil Cases of Brest Regional Court dismissed a complaint by Dzianis Turchaniak, local coordinator of the For Freedom opposition movement, who had urged the Court to redirect his complaint against the administration of Brest Leninski District for consideration by an inferior court.

18.10.2012 Why did arrestee die in Minsk pre-trial prison’s hospital?

As part of the monitoring of the penitentiary system carried out by the Human Rights Center "Viasna", human rights defenders keep receiving letters in which prison inmates provide specific evidence of human rights violations against people in custody and serving sentences, including allegations of torture, and other evidence of inhumane treatment to prisoners.

18.10.2012 ARCHE editor Valer Bulhakau fined

Hrodna Regional Court fined today Valer Bulhakau, editor-in-chief of the ARCHE literary magazine, 500,000 rubles for illegal selling of the edition, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.

18.10.2012 Euroradio reporter out of parliament building over security concerns

The new members of the House of Representatives will gather for the first time today, with Alexander Lukashenka set to attend the first session of parliament.

18.10.2012 Slutsk activists campaign for barrier-free pedestrian crossings

The volunteers of the civil campaign “Nash Dom” (“Our House”) have collected more than three hundred signatures of the residents of Slutsk (Minsk region) to urge the executive committee and the council of deputies to bring the height of curbs in compliance with building codes.