The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for November 2012

13.11.2012 Government unwilling to compensate Homel resident’s moral damage for illegal conviction

Three appeals have been filed against the decision of Homel Chyhunachny District Court demanding 50 million rubles in moral damages for local resident Yauhen Dzedushkin.

13.11.2012 “Belarus Press Photo” albums seized at border

42 copies of the “Belarus Press Photo 2011” contest albums were seized for examination by the Belarusian customs officials at the Lithuanian border, press photographer Yulia Darashkevich reports.

13.11.2012 Belarusian journalist Iryna Khalip won the Hermann Kesten Prize

The prize was founded by the German PEN Centre. Khalip, a Minsk correspondent for Novaya Gazeta (Russia) and the wife of former Belarusian presidential candidate and political prisoner Andrei Sannikov, was not able to attend the award ceremony, because she serves her two-year suspended sentence for taking part in a protest rally against the rigged results of the presidential elections on December 19, 2010.

13.11.2012 Dzmitry Dashkevich had a meeting with the lawyer

On 9 November Dzmitry Dashkevich, the leader of the international organization Young Front (Czech Republic), who is now in the Grodna prison No 1, met his lawyer.

12.11.2012 It is proposed to impose travel restrictions on negligent parents in Vitsebsk region

“Restrictions on movement” can be imposed on the parents from whom money is exacted for the maintenance of their children in orphanages. However, there is no such notion as in the Belarusian legislation, which means that such restrictions will violate human rights in the case they are really applied.

12.11.2012 Raman Kisliak applies against inclusion in lawbreakers' database

The unlawful inclusion of the human rights defender in this database by the police became the reason for his detention and subsequent fingerprinting on 8 November.

12.11.2012 Brest: ex-candidate not allowed to familiarize with materials of the case brought on his request

Aliaksandr Melnik, a former candidate for the parliament at the Brest-Western constituency #1, strives for imposing administrative punishment on the head of the precinct election commission #39 Leanid Valabuyeu who prohibited him from being present during the vote count.

09.11.2012 Liubou Kavaliova demands the Office of the Prosecutor General checked the work of the Supreme Court

Mother of the death convict Uladzislau Kavaliou (executed for terrorism), said that the Supreme Court violated the terms of response to the complaint, filed by her son’s counsel.

09.11.2012 Complaint against preventive KGB supervision over Aleh Aksionau turned down

Aleh Aksionau, a Mahiliou activist of the organizing committee of the party “Belarusian Christian Democracy”, remains under a vigilant watch of the security services.

09.11.2012 Former political prisoner Siarhei Kazakou gets detained

Siarhei Kazakou, a former political prisoner and activist of the “European Belarus” civil campaign, was detained in the evening of 8 November at the central railway station in Minsk.

09.11.2012 “Young Front” activist Raman Vasiliieu arrested for 15 days too

As it was found during today's trial, the activist was charged for the same thing as his comrade Uladzimir Yaromenak – he also wanted to spill Valerian tincture on the monument to Lenin. Vasillieu charted with “disorderly conducted” (Article 17.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) and was sentenced to the same 15 days of imprisonment.

09.11.2012 Human rights defender Raman Kisliak detained for fingerprinting

Raman Kisliak, a human rights activist from Brest, was detained by the traffic police today as a “person hiding from administrative prosecution”.

09.11.2012 Court “needs time” to study the case 8 months after execution

The mother of Uladzislau Kavaliou received an answer from the Supreme Court to her supervisory appeal.

08.11.2012 If you want to use Belarusian – pay for interpreter’s services

On 6 November the Baranavichy human rights defender Siarhei Housha received an answer from the first deputy head of the main justice department of the Brest Region Executive Committee A.Hushchyn.

08.11.2012 Persecution of civil activists in Svislach continues

Recently, administrative reports or alleged participation in an unauthorized action have been drawn up on the local citizens Viktar Dzesiatsik, Yury Hlebik and Anatol Valiuk.