Belarusian human rights defenders raise voices in support of Voronezh human rights house
The Voronezh Human Rights House has
been located in Tyuryupa Street, 34 for more than 20 years, housing
the oldest civic and human rights organizations in the region. This
House is well-known in Russia and abroad as one of the largest
Russian centers of civic activities, education and youth initiatives.
One of the founding organizations of the Human Rights House
is the Free Labor Confederation. In 1995 the FLC and the
Inter-regional Human Rights Group established a Civic reception room
which continues working and accepts more than 1,000 visitors a year.
The reception room has a record number of won cases from the Voronezh
region in the European Court on Human Rights.
On 17 May 2013
FLC received a letter from the Municipal Property Board, informing it
about the cancellation of the rent agreement and demanding to vacate
the occupied premises within 3-day term.
This will mean the
shutdown of the Civic Reception Room with a long history and public
popularity. Eviction from the house will also endanger the
functioning of a number of youth organizations who were provided with
legal addresses by the FLC. Most of them have been working on the
volunteer basis for a long time already and don't have any stable
sources of income.
Belarusian human rights defenders and civic
activists filed a letter to the Voronezh officials, asking to save
the office and put no obstacles to the professional activities of
their colleagues. Everyone can show their solidarity!
