UN Human Rights Committee rules in favor of Homel activist

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has found numerous violations of the right to disseminate information against a United Civil Party activist from Homel Uladzimir Niapomniashchykh. The Committee recommends the Belarusian authorities to restore the activist’s rights, to compensate for all the costs incurred, as well as to change the law “On Mass Events”.

One of the episodes mentioned in Uladzimir Niapomniashchykh’s complaint dealt with a “silent protest” held in the summer of 2011 in Homel. The activist took part in a “clapping protest” staged in one of the city’s squares, urging citizens to take part in a peaceful assembly. He was accused of violating the law on mass events, and Judge Ilya Svirydau of Homel’s Chyhunachny District Court punished the activist with a heavy fine.

On October 7, 2011, the opposition activist handed out leaflets calling for participation in the National Assembly, which was held on the initiative of local pro-democracy activists in order to discuss the socio-economic situation in the country. Judge Alena Tsalkova of the Tsentralny District Court sentenced Uladzimir Niapomniashchykh to a heavy fine.

Being unable to protect his rights within the country, the activist complained to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

Every other complaint from Belarus, which is considered in the United Nations Human Rights Committee, deals with violations of the right to freedom of expression.