Bitter Winter in Belarus
The FIDH 7-minute film Bitter Winter in
Belarus denounces the violent repression exercised by the Belarus
authorities against all the dissident voices that have protested against the
rigging of the December 19, 2010 presidential elections.
Following the announcement of the election results, about 700 persons
demonstrating peacefully in the centre of Minsk
to denounce electoral fraud, were arrested and sent to prison, many of them
were severely beaten. Among them were seven opposition candidates, along with
political activists, independent journalists and human rights defenders. Some of
the activists received arbitrary prison sentences, while others had their
offices raided and ravaged repeatedly by the security forces, without access to
fair means of defence; all were subjected to threats on the part of the regime.
President Lukashenko himself declared, the day after the election results were
announced: “Lets finish the job! There shall be no more senseless democracy in
the country! […] They shall all go to prison, in accordance with the law”.
Today the repression continues. Two former presidential candidates, Andrei
Sannikov et Vladzimir Niaklayev are still respectively in detention and under
house arrest. Several lawyers of the detained activists have had their licences
withdrawn. The two independent newspapers “Nasha Niva” and “Narodnaya Volia”
risk to be banned shortly. Six journalists have been accused of having
participated in “massive disturbances of the peace”, and one of their
colleagues has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. And the human rights
defenders are more than ever targeted by the regime, and are interrogated,
searched and subjected to smear campaigns broadcast, all day long on the public
channels [1] .
The FIDH web documentary shows damning testimonies of a society stifled by a
regime that is trying at all costs to suppress all independent voices.
FIDH will shortly issue a detailed report on the repression.
[1] See the press release of May 4, 2011 and the Urgent appeal BLR 001/0111/OBS 004 published by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights defenders (a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT)
