Disabled activist from Svietlahorsk seeks justice at UN Human Rights Committee

Yury Liashenka, a wheelchair-user from the city of Svietlahorsk, has submitted an individual complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee, after he exhausted all domestic remedies. He complains of harassment by the government for trying to publicly protest the refusal of local officials to build a ramp outside a multistory building in which the disabled activist lives.

The activist asked for permission to picket outside the executive committee, but after he was prohibited to publicly express his opinion in the city’s central square, the activist went to the executive committee’s building in a wheelchair with a banner in his hands saying “Down with Lawlessness!”

As a result, Yury Liashenka was detained by an ambulance. It later turned out that the doctors had received an anonymous phone call saying that a wheelchair-user need urgent aid at the central square. After being brought to the hospital, there appeared a policeman, who charged the activist with an administrative offense.

Judge Iryna Aliseika of the Svietlahorsk District Court sentenced the disabled activist to a fine. Yury Liashenka appealed against the court ruling to the courts of various levels and the Prosecutor's Office, but it did not brought any results. Therefore, having exhausted all domestic remedies, he decided to protect his right at the UN Human Rights Committee.

In his complaint, the activist asks the UN to find a violation of his right to freedom of expression and to recommend the Belarusian government to bring the national law on mass events in line with the country's international commitments.

Source: gomelspring.org