The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for December 2014

22.12.2014 Activist Dzmitry Paloika banned to leave Belarus

Activist Dzmitry Paloika has been released after serving ten days in jail. He was convicted by the Baranavichy Court of disorderly conduct under Art. 17.1 of the Administrative on December 21.

22.12.2014 Relatives visit political prisoner Yauhen Vaskovich

Political prisoner Yauhen Vaskovich has been visited by his mother and grandmother. The meeting lasted two hours, according to the press-service of the Belarusian Christian Democracy.

22.12.2014 Yury Rubtsou leaves Minsk to serve sentence

Opposition activist Yury Rubtsou, who was convicted of insulting the judge, will serve his sentence in open-type correctional facility No. 7 in the village of Kuplin, Pruzhany district. The activist wrote about his in his Facebook account. He is currently being registered with the administration of the penal facility.

22.12.2014 BelaPAN: Blocking IP-addresses is attack on freedom of speech

The BelaPAN information company has released a statement after the IP-addresses of the websites belapan.by, belapan.com and naviny.by were blocked on December 20.

22.12.2014 Minsk court fines film director for resisting arrest

On December 20, the Court of Minsk’s Maskouski district considered the administrative charges brought against film director Volha Mikalaichyk, who was accused of disobeying police officers.

22.12.2014 Independent Belarusian News Websites Blocked

Several independent news websites have been blocked in the former Soviet republic of Belarus, where the government exerts close control of news media.

22.12.2014 Court orders to collect money from independent media in Horki

On December 18, after a long break the Horki District Court continued hearing the lawsuit by head of local office of the Belarusian Society of the Disabled Tamara Kaltunova against the BelaPAN news agency and the private enterprise UzHorak, which publishes the newspaper of the same name.

19.12.2014 Eduard Lobau: I have to look around and decide what to do next

The Minsk office of the Belarusian Popular front hosted today the first press conference of former political prisoner Eduard Lobau, who was released yesterday after serving four years of imprisonment in penal colony No. 22 in Ivatsevichy.

19.12.2014 Investigative nonsense: Shoes taken off barefooted body

The recent decision on the results of another probe in connection with the death of Aliaksandr Akulich in Svetlahorsk detention center demonstrates unacceptable negligence of investigator Viachaslau Petachenka.

19.12.2014 Ales Bialiatski: By supporting Lukashenka, the West supports Putin

On the day of memory of Vaclav Havel, Chairman of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” and a former political prisoner Ales Bialiatski came to Prague at the invitation of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

19.12.2014 Detention center in Niasvizh to be closed for repairs after complaint from activist

Aliaksandr Vaitseshyk, an activists of the trade union of radio electronic industry (REP), has received a letter signed by head doctor of the Republican Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology of the Department of Finance and the Rear of the Ministry of the Interior, A.L. Zhuk, which says that the experts of the state agency have considered his complaint against the facts of non-compliance with sanitary-epidemiological legislation in the temporary detention center of the police department in Niasvizh. The letter says that during a probe has confirmed some of the facts mentioned in his complaint to the Prosecutor General.

19.12.2014 Trade union activists fined over hunger strike in Babruisk

The Babruisk Court has heard the charges brought against four members of the Free Trade Union of Belarus, who were earlier dismissed from the factory TDiA – Aliaksandr Varankin, Mikalai Zhybul, Aliaksandr Hramyka and Aleh Shauchenka. The activists were charged with participating in an unauthorized mass event.

18.12.2014 Independent journalist in Brest faces administrative charges

Ales Liauchuk, member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, has received a phone call from a police officer of the Brest Leninski District Police Department.

18.12.2014 Publisher of Volny Horad newspaper files appeal to Mahiliou Regional Court

Uladzimir Kudrautsau, publisher of the Krychau-based independent newspaper Volny Horad, filed yesterday an appeal with the Mahiliou Regional Court against the decision of the Krychau District Court of December 8.

18.12.2014 Hrodna Regional Court turns down appeal by journalist Mikhail Karnevich

On December 18, Judge Mikalai Rachynski of the Hrodna Regional Court dismissed the appeal of journalist Mikhail Karnevich. The BAJ member challenged the ruling of Judge Alena Piatrova of the Leninski District Court, who actually convicted the journalist for the performance of his professional duties during the celebration of the 1863 uprising memorial day held in Svislach and Yakushouka on October 26.