U.S. Department of State Reports about Human Rights Violations in Belarus

Source: www.charter97.org

The U.S. Department of State has published a new annual report on human rights practices in 2006. The report notes that presidential elections on 19 March that declared Lukashenka president for a consecutive third term failed to meet international standards for democratic elections. The government continued to ignore recommendations by major international organizations to improve election processes and human rights.

The government’s human rights record remained very poor and worsened in some areas as the government continued to commit frequent serious abuses.

The government failed to account for past disappearances of opposition political figures and journalists. Prison conditions were extremely poor, and there were numerous reports of abuse of prisoners and detainees. Arbitrary arrests, detentions, and imprisonment of citizens for political reasons, criticizing officials, or participating in demonstrations were common. Court trials, whose outcomes usually were predetermined, frequently were conducted behind closed doors without the benefit of an independent judiciary or independent observers.

The government further restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of press, speech, assembly, association, and religion.

The full text of the report is published HERE