The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for October 2020

13.10.2020 Members of parliament from Belgium and Germany take over godparenthood for Aliaksandr Shabalin, Alena Maushuk and Pavel Piaskou

As part of Libereco’s solidarity campaign #WeStandBYyou Samuel Cogolati (Kamer, Belgium), Dietmar Köster (European Parliament, Germany) und Ursula Groden-Kranich (Bundestag, Germany) have taken over a godparenthood for political prisoners in Belarus and demand their immediate and unconditional release.

13.10.2020 Viasna calls to drop criminal charges against volunteer Andrei Chapiuk

Statement by the Board of the Human Rights Center “Viasna”

12.10.2020 Stop pressure on the press!

Statement by Belarusian Association of Journalists, Press Club, and United Media Association

12.10.2020 2 political prisoners released on bail

Two political prisoners have been released from the KGB pre-trial prison, Belarusian state television said on October 11. Yury Vaskrasenski, a member of Viktar Babaryka's campaign team, and Dzmitry Rabtsevich, director of the PandaDoc office in Minsk, walked free to await trial under an obligation not to leave the country.

12.10.2020 600 detained in violent dispersal of Sunday protests

Some 600 people were detained following yesterday’s protests held in Minsk and other cities of Belarus. Most of them were arrested in the capital during the violent dispersal of a peaceful gathering in central Minsk in the afternoon and a series of smaller protests held in the city’s districts in the evening.

10.10.2020 "They started beating me again and said: 'This is a refill for you!'" Survivor stories

26-year-old Minsk resident Aliaksandr Lukyanski was returning home from work at night on August 11. He knew that people in the city were going to peaceful protests, so he decided to take a taxi.

10.10.2020 On World Day against the Death Penalty, EU and CoE call on Belarus to end executions

Today on the World and European Day Against the Death Penalty, the European Union and the Council of Europe reaffirm their opposition to the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and call for the universal abolition of the death penalty. We welcome the continued decline in the use of the death penalty, confirming the overall trend towards universal abolition.

09.10.2020 Salihorsk human rights activist sentenced to 10 days in prison

Leanid Markhotka, an activist of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, has been sentenced to 10 days of administrative detention in Salihorsk. The reasons for the court ruling, however, are not known.

09.10.2020 Kalesnikava and Babaryka’s lawyer facing disbarment

Aliaksandr Pylchanka, counsel for arrested opposition leaders Viktar Babaryka and Maryia Kalesnikava, may lose his license as a result of a hearing at the Ministry of Justice scheduled for October 15, according to interfax.by.

09.10.2020 HRW: Belarus Uses Children to Pressure Dissenting Parents

Judicial Harassment, Threatened Loss of Custody

09.10.2020 Viasna site still on blacklist

Valiantsin Stefanovich, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", has received an answer to his appeal to the Ministry of Information asking to explain the blocking of the human rights website spring96.org.

08.10.2020 Human rights activists present report on human rights situation after August 9 election

On Thursday, October 8, representatives of the Belarusian human rights coalition presented a report entitled “Belarus After Election”, which contains information about the human rights situation in Belarus in the post-election period. The experts focused on the rights to life, personal freedom and humane treatment, as well as freedom from torture. The report also touches on violations of the rights of journalists and children.

07.10.2020 20 new names on list of political prisoners

Human rights defenders call to release all persons facing "rioting" charges. Joint statement by the human rights organizations of Belarus

07.10.2020 42 rights groups: Belarus authorities must stop persecuting civil society and engage in dialogue

Belarusian human rights groups are being targeted for documenting abuses committed by the regime and helping victims. FIDH and 41 of its member organisations demand that the Belarus authorities put an end to all forms of harassment of civil society activists, including Marfa Rabkova, and start a dialogue aiming to reach a peaceful solution consistent with the people’s demand for new, democratic elections.

07.10.2020 "A paramedic came and started beating people." Survivor stories

18-year-old Illia was detained on August 11 near Pushkinskaya metro station when he was driving to his native city. He told Viasna how inhumanely he was treated and beaten in the police department and in the detention center in Akrescin Street.