The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for March 2016

31.03.2016 EU Speaks Out Against Death Penalty In Belarus Again

An official representative of the European External Action Service (EEAS) has called upon Minsk to join the moratorium on the death penalty.

31.03.2016 Opposition leader Viachaslau Siuchyk fined in absentia

The Svietlahorsk District Court has fined Viachaslau Siuchyk, leader of the Razam opposition group, 420,000 rubles on charges of disobeying a lawful order by a police officer.

29.03.2016 Supreme Court confirms death sentence for Ivan Kulesh

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Board has upheld the death sentence handed down to Ivan Kulesh on charges of triple murder, as well as attempted murder, theft and robbery committed in the Lida district in 2013 and 2014.

28.03.2016 Intigam Aliyev To Be Released From Prison

Prominent human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, who has been imprisoned in Azerbaijan since 2014, was expected to be released on March 28 after his jail term was changed to a suspended sentence.

28.03.2016 CEC comments on parliamentary election date

The Central Election Committee has explained when the parliamentary election will be held. According to the law, parliamentary elections must be appointed at least four months in advance and should be held at least 30 days before the previous MP’s mandates expire.

28.03.2016 US expert: People face incorrect question in votes on the death penalty

Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, who took part in the thematic conference in Minsk, told the Human Rights Center "Viasna" about the evolution of public debate on the death penalty in the United States and shared his views on this issue in Belarus.

25.03.2016 Freelance journalist detained in Rečyca

Freelance journalist Kanstantsin Zhukouski was detained yesterday in the town of Rečyca, Homieĺ region, while interviewing local residents outside the municipal community center.

25.03.2016 Activists fined over vendors’ protests

The Court of Minsk’s Centraĺny district heard yesterday the cases of 17 opposition activists charged with joining a series of protests staged by entrepreneurs in Minsk in late February and early March.

24.03.2016 Investigators unable to identify persons who broke activist’s jaw

Viachaslau Kasinerau, one of the defendants in so called ‘graffiti case’, who sought criminal prosecution of persons who beat him severely during his detention on August 11 last year, has been notified the Investigative Committee’s Maskoŭski office suspended the preliminary investigation.

23.03.2016 Viciebsk police go unpunished in beating case

The Viciebsk city office of the Investigative Committee has refused to open a criminal case to investigate the beating of Pavel Rasliakou. According to him, he was badly beaten by employees of the Kastryčnicki district police department on 1 September 2015.

23.03.2016 Our thoughts are in Brussels

Following yesterday's terrorist attacks in Brussels, the Human Rights Center "Viasna" expresses condolences to residents of the Belgian capital, as well as solidarity with our colleagues at the FIDH office in Brussels.

23.03.2016 Kitchen TV: The issue of the death penalty in the US

The issue of the death penalty in the United States is of particular interest for the Belarusian human rights defenders, since the US is often cited as an argument for the retention of the death penalty in Belarus.

22.03.2016 Activists charged over picket in support of Nadiya Savchenko

At least twelve people have been charged with participating in a picket staged last afternoon outside the Russian Embassy to express support for the Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who is facing politically-motivated charges in Russia.

21.03.2016 Death in Žodzina prison: accident or negligence?

Ms. Maryna Bahdanava says her son died as a result of negligence by the doctors of prison No. 8 in the town of Žodzina, Minsk region.

18.03.2016 Activists lose appeal in ‘graffiti case’

The Minsk City Court dismissed today an appeal by three defendants in the so called ‘graffiti case’, Maksim Piakarski, Vadzim Zharomski and Viachaslau Kasinerau, who were sentenced to heavy fines on January 29.