Belarusian Human Rights House named after Barys Zvozskau

The Vilnius-based Belarusian Human Rights House in exile will bear the name of the prominent human rights defender Barys Zvozskau, after the Lithuanian Registration Center said yesterday that the official name of the institution is now the Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House.

Barys Zvozskau was born in the town of Belogorsk, Russia and graduated from Leningrad Electro Technical Institute. He then worked as an engineer at a number of industrial enterprises.

Barys Zvozskau was one of the co-founders of the Legal Initiative NGO and the first President of the Belarusian Human Rights House in exile. In 2008 Barys Zvozskau was named the Human Rights Defender of the Year.

Barys Zvozskau died in June 2012 at the age of 63.