The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for October 2012

10.10.2012 Central Election Commission turns down appeal of Mahiliou observer

Alina Skrebunova asked the CEC to declare invalid the results of the parliamentary election at the polling station #48. According to her, the data of the virtual calculation of the electors who came to vote didn't correspond to the number in the commission's protocol.

10.10.2012 Slonim deputies oppose environmental protection initiatives

About 1.5 months ago a group of Slonim citizens addressed the Slonim District Council with the proposal to consider the question of putting a ban on the entry of private vehicles in the wood along the Slonim-Baranavichy highway and imposing fines for discharge of garbage in the Slonim forests.

10.10.2012 Prosecutor's office turned down appeal of Salihorsk observer

The Salihorsk District Prosecutor's Office considered an appeal of an observer of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Uladzimir Shyla, concerning violations of the Electoral Code during the 23 September election.

10.10.2012 KGB officers disguise as representatives of Education Department

On 8 October a fourth-year student of the Sakharov University, Inna Panchkouskaya, was called to the Partyzanski District Department of Education in Minsk. The formal reason was to find out why the girl wanted to get a second higher education at the Belarusian State University. However, as it was found out later, the meeting was organized by the KGB, whose officers paid interest to Inna's foreign trips.

09.10.2012 Detentions on Kastrychnitskaya Square in Minsk

The cameraman of “Nasha Niva” Tatsiana Haurylchyk was detained why videoing an art performance on the Kastrychnitskaya Square in Minsk.

09.10.2012 “Platform” got liquidated

The Minsk City Economic Court granted the lawsuit of the Tax Inspection of the Savetski district of Minsk and ruled to liquidate the educational institution “Platform”.

09.10.2012 Human Rights House Network calls on Belarusian authorities to release of Ales Bialiatski

We, the undersigned members and partners of the Human Rights House Network, are deeply concerned about the continued detention of Ales BIaliatski and the significant deterioration of his detention conditions. Ales Bialiatski is the head of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” in Belarus, Vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and is one of the founders of the Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius (Lithuania).

09.10.2012 Brest: election commission turns down ex-candidate's complaint

The head of the Brest regional organization of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada) Ihar Maslouski received an answer from the election commission of the Brest-Central election constituency #2.

09.10.2012 Babruisk: trade union activist not admitted to tractor plant again

As said by the leader of the Free Trade Union of Belarus at the Tractor Details Plant Mikhail Kavalkou, his entrance permit has been blocked since 8 October again. Bear in mind that earlier he had faced such a problem in spring and solved as a result of court proceedings.

09.10.2012 Mahiliou: volunteers detained for stickers against death penalty

Several volunteers were detained for distributing stickers on 8 October, on the eve of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, 10 October.

09.10.2012 Ivatsevichy: observer gets fired after election

A locksmith from the communal public services enterprise in Ivatsevichy Stanislau Khaladovich, who was an observer of the elections, received a notification that his working contract won’t be prolonged on 7 November.

09.10.2012 Two-year preventive supervision established over Siarhei Kavalenka

The former political prisoner was called to police on 8 October. There Kavalenka was informed and he is put on a preventive list before the conviction expires.

09.10.2012 Who is the terrorist now?

The House of Representatives adopted in the second reading the amendments to the legislation on the issues of “fight against terrorism” and “counteraction to extremism”.

08.10.2012 Another scientist is being fired in Hrodna

The name of a new possible victim of a “cleansing” in the HrodnaUniversity named after Yanka Kupala is already known. It is a Belarusian-speaking professor Ihar Kuzminich, who was a deputy head of the law faculty before September 2012.