04.05.2011 Weekly Review of Post-election Situation in Belarus (25 April – 1 May)
Trials of the criminal cases instigated for participation in the post-election protest actions continued in the Minsk courts during the whole week. All in all, 11 defendants were tried. A verdict to Dzmitry Bandarenka, a coordinator of the civil campaign European Belarus, was pronounced: he was punished with 24 months of imprisonment under Article 342 of the Criminal Code. The crackdown on the freedom of word increased as well - the largest private socio-political editions, Narodnaya Volia and Nasha Niva face the closing down. Activities of human rights defendants are banned as well: an expert of the International Observation Mission Ivan Kondratenko was deported from Belarus. Administrative persecution is going on, too: detentions of participants of street actions ended with fines and arrests.
25.04.2011 Weekly review of post-election situation in Belarus (18-24 April)
The 11 April terrorist act in Minsk metro was followed by increasing harassment of independent mass media: prosecuting and executive authorities addressed warnings to individual journalists and editorial boards of several media. Public media launched a campaign of discrediting against independent mass media. In these circumstances, the Belarusian Association of Journalists released a statement entitled “Stop Persecution of Our Colleagues!” Another person was reported as involved in the mass riot criminal case – Vital Stazharau. The dates of trials of 11 defendants in the 19 December 2010 case were appointed. On 19 April, activists of the “Nash Dom” civil campaign Valery Shchukin, Aleh Barshcheuski, Pavel Levinau and Pavel Staneuski were preventively detained and later sentenced to administrative arrests. Another activist Volha Karach was fined. The authorities banned all events marking the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster.
18.04.2011 Weekly review of post-election situation in Belarus (11-17 April)
The past week was marred by a terrible tragedy that made all other events fall by the wayside: on 11 April Minsk Kastrychnitskaya central metro station was rocked by a powerful blast, claiming 13 lives and causing injuries to over 200 more people. April 13 was declared a national day of morning. The explosion was qualified as an act of terrorism, the news that shocked Belarus as it had always been thought of as a rather safe country. On 12 April, a PACE meeting in Strasbourg considered the scheduled Belarusian issues, which was condemned by the official media, who labeled the human rights defenders attending the meeting as “a fifth column”, naming their actions “dance on bones”. However, the state-run media failed to mention a one-minute silence that opened the PACE session. A number of Belarusian politicians and journalists, including opposition leader Aliaksandr Milinkevich, independent columnist Aliaksandr Starykevich and former KGB officer Valery Kostka, were officially warned by the General Prosecutor’s Office for alleged dissemination of “ungrounded data on the 11 April tragedy.” Furthermore, the Information Ministry issued similar warnings to the Nasha Niva and Narodnaya Volya independent periodicals, together with the UzHorak minor local newspaper. Several case files of persons involved in the 19 December 2010 events were submitted to courts. Civil activists kept campaigning for the release of journalist Andrzej Poczobut, arrested on charges of libel of the President.
11.04.2011 Weekly review of post-election situation in Belarus (4-10 April)
The recent social and political developments in the country have been accompanied by certain economic instability, with gradual increase in exchange rates and rush demand on the foreign currency and food markets. The 19 December 2010 “mass riot” criminal case is still underway: the Interior Ministry has announced the termination of the preliminary investigation activities. The case files of former presidential candidates Mikalai Statkevich and Dzmitry Us have been submitted to courts for consideration. Four more persons involved in the case – Zmitser Bandarenka, Pavel Seviarynets, Iryna Khalip and Siarhei Martsaleu – are now facing milder charges. Minsk City Court dismissed the appeals by Aliaksandr Atroshchankau, Dzmitry Novik and Aliaksandr Malchanau, who had been earlier convicted under Art. 293 of the Criminal Code. The General Prosecutor’s Office refused to initiate criminal proceedings following a torture report by former presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich. Andrzej Poczobut, journalist and activist of the opposition Union of Poles, faces charges under two criminal articles – Par. 1 Art. 386 (“insult of President”) and Par. 1 Art. 367 (“libel of President”). Two KGB prisoners – UCP leader Anatol Liabedzka and “Tell the Truth” activist Aliaksandr Fiaduta – were released on recognizance.
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.
