04.04.2011 Weekly review of post-election situation in Belarus (28 March – 3 April)
In the beginning of the week, several people detained during the street actions of 25 March, Freedom Day, were punished with administrative arrest: Mikola Dzemidzenka, Iryna Hubskaya, Viktar Ivashekvich, Zmitser Salauyou and journalist Uladzimir Laptsevich. The criminal persecution in connection with the protest rally of 19 December 2010 continued as well. One of its participants, 20-year-old Mikita Likhavid was sentenced to 3.5 years of medium-security colony.
28.03.2011 Weekly review of post-election situation in Belarus (March 21-27)
On 22 March, two Minsk courts opened the hearings on politically motivated criminal cases: Young Front leaders Zmitser Dashkevich and Eduard Lobau faced charged for malicious hooliganism and were eventually convicted (Dashkevich was sentenced to 2 years and Lobau – to 4 years in a high-security penal colony). The trial of youth opposition activist Mikita Likhavid accused of participation in the 19 December 2010 mass riot was postponed till 29 March. An unprecedented number of police employees (31) act as victims in the case. The historic 25 March Freedom Day anniversary was marked by harsh repressions against opposition and independent media. Meanwhile, the authorities banned all opposition rallies across the country, preventing local activists from going to Minsk. Two journalists were sentenced to administrative arrests – Aliaksandr Lashmankin (editor of the Russian Svoboda news agency) and BelaPAN Mahiliou reporter Ales Asiptsou. Another journalist Uladzimir Laptsevich is currently in custody awaiting trial on similar charges.
21.03.2011 Weekly review of post-election situation in Belarus (March 14-20)
Politically motivated prosecutions have continued to gather pace: charges concerning the 19 December events were brought against another former presidential candidate Dzmitry Us, charges against another former presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich were changed. Within the framework of the criminal case, law enforcement agencies continued carrying out interrogations and searches. Ales Mikhalevich left Belarus in fear of another arrest, following his release on recognizance. Human rights defenders encountered new harassment facts. Freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly were still considerably restricted. More detentions were reported. The existence of a “black list” was reported by the media: the authorities banned a number of concerts by Belarusian rock bands. Six artworks to be exhibited at the “Pahonia” art exhibition were rejected due to censorship.
21.03.2011 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in January 2011
The beginning of the year was marked with the ongoing repressions all over the country following the mass action which was held in the center of Minsk in the evening of 19 December to protest against rigging the results of the presidential election. Searches and interrogations at the KGB, sanctioned within the framework of the investigation into the criminal case under Article 293, "mass riot" continued non-stop in January. Criminal and administrative persecution was used not only towards participants of the peaceful action, but also towards representatives of the civil society and independent media, despite a wide international response and the demands of the EU and the US to urgently stop reprisals against citizens.
16.03.2011 Weekly review of post-election situation in Belarus (7-13 March)
On 9 March the assistant to the Representative of the International Observation Mission of the Committee on International Control over the Situation with Human Rights in Belarus, citizen of the Ukraine Maxim Kitsyuk was denied entry to the territory of the Republic of Belarus while crossing the border by train Kyiv - Minsk.
13.01.2011 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in December 2010
December was an important month for summing up the results of the presidential electoral campaign that lasted for three months and ended on 19 December.
09.12.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in November 2010
The stage of collecting signatures in support of the nomination of candidates for President of the Republic of Belarus ended in November. On 18 November the Central Election Commission held a sitting to register candidates. The electoral teams of 11 out of 17 pretenders for candidate stated they had passed to election commissions more than 100,000 signatures in their support. 6 pretenders decided to withdraw from the election. Uladzimir Pravalski wasn't registered as a candidate for President because, according to the CEC, he had passed only 118 valid signatures in support of his candidacy.
15.11.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in October 2010
In October participants of the campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections observed the following stages of the electoral campaign – the collection of signatures in support of the potential candidates for President (ended on 29 October) and the nomination of candidates to precinct election commissions, one of the key mechanisms of the electoral process that directly organizes the voting and the counting of votes. 11 pretenders for presidency passed more than 100,000 signatures to territorial election commissions. 10 of them were registered as candidates and continued taking part in the electoral race. Observers of the campaign continued registering cases of violation of the electoral legislation by administrations of state enterprises and organs which manifested in collection of signatures during working hours and forcing in the process of collection of signatures. The nomination of candidates for precinct election commissions ended on 31 October. An insignificant number of representatives of oppositional parties were included in them (about 0.25% of the total number). Territorial election commissions denied observers in observing the verification of signatures for the nomination of candidates.
05.10.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in September 2010
The beginning of autumn was rich in socio-political events, which was partially connected with the approach of the presidential electoral campaign. September was marked with forced dispersals of peaceful street actions, mass detentions, an ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression, judicial persecution of social and political activists, and linguistic discrimination. The untimely death of the journalist of the web-site charter97.org Aleh Biabenin, throwing of Molotov cocktails at the Russian Embassy and the delinquents' isolation center in Minsk and the repeating arrests of a number of youth activists contributed to creation of a tense atmosphere. The month ended with a human rights week in Vilnius that included three important events – an annual meeting of the network of Human Rights Houses, the international conference on human rights in Belarus and the Baltic countries and the Belarusian Human Rights Forum II.
15.09.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in July-August 2010
Socio-political life during these months was accompanied with escalation of the relations between Belarus and Russia including oil and informational war. The general situation of human rights in Belarus remained the same: restriction of freedom of word, administrative and criminal persecution of the opposition and forced dispersals of peaceful street actions.
12.07.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in June 2010
On 8 June representatives of the Human Rights Center Viasna and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee held a press-conference to analyze the situation during the first six months of 2010. They stated the absence of positive changes concerning the respect of human rights along with the deterioration of the general situation due to the approach of the presidential election. What concerns the latest amendments to the Electoral Code, human rights defenders alleged that they had little influence on the latest local election, which didn't have significant differences from the previous ones.
07.06.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in May 2010
In May, the legal proceedings on four politically motivated criminal cases came to an end, two new death verdicts were issued and several peaceful actions were dispersed, including actions of activists of sexual minorities. As a result of a clash with police, youth activist Zmitser Parmon got to hospital with a broken clavicle. Although several civil activists were sentenced to arrests, the administrative persecution in May was mainly confined to fines.
09.05.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in April 2010
The local council election was the main event in April. According to information of Lidziya Yarmoshyna, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, 21,293 deputies were elected to local councils on 25 April. Among them there were nine representatives of democratic opposition, including 3 members of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party, 5 members of the Belarusian Party of Leftists Fair World and 1 member of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada.
16.04.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in March 2010
The situation of human rights in Belarus in March showed the extent to which the Belarusian authorities weren't ready to follow the way of democratic reforms. Execution of two death convicts was one of the most important events that month. Human rights defenders are of the opinion that it was consciously done to thwart the requirements of the national legislation and the international undertakings that were ratified by the country. On 23 March, the Human Rights Center Viasna, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Amnesty International, the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE adopted an official statement to condemn the actions of the authorities. The international community was indignant that the executions were performed against the background of negotiations between Belarus and the Council of Europe about introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty.
16.03.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in February 2010
In February, the conflict between the two Unions of Poles in Belarus, one of which is recognized by the Belarusian authorities and the other – by the Polish authorities, reached the international scale. On 17 February the Valozhyn District Court obliged Tereza Sobal, Chairperson of the Ivianets Polish House, to pass the building to the administration of the pro-governmental Union of Poles. Mass detentions of civil activists were conducted during the court hearings on confiscation of the Polish House. The UPB leaders were punished by courts on charges in organizing an unauthorized action of solidarity in Hrodna on 10 February. An urgent counsel of the Polish MFA was summoned in connection with these events. It was decided that the officials who were involved in repressions against the Belarusian Poles would be banned to enter the territory of Poland.
