06.05.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in April 2009
Few people gathered for the traditional action Chernobyl Way at the end of April. 'The past rally can be called an action of recession', commented Liavon Barshcheuski, Chairperson of the BPF Party. Meanwhile, persecution of democratic activists is going on. Human rights defenders are of the opinion that only point changes have taken place. The Minsk city executive committee banned holding of the action on the route that was proposed by its organizers. Democratic activists were detained in different regions of the country.
11.04.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in March 2009
Celebration of anniversary of the Belarusian People's Republic is one of the traditionally important events of March. 25 March 2009 was the first time in the recent years when the appropriate street action went on peacefully, without forced dispersals and detentions. However, one can't say that everything was alright and the right to peaceful assemblies was not violated. On the day of the event the police and security services conducted a number of preventive searches and detentions in the Belarusian capital and regions. In the afternoon the police burst into the apartment of Aleh Ladutska, a Minsk activist of the For Freedom movement, and searched it. They also detained Palina Dziakava, an activist of the For Freedom movement. The apartments rented by the Young Front activists Dzianis Karnou and Valer Matskevich were searched as well. In both cases police referred to telephone calls informing them about fights in the apartments.
03.03.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in February 2009
In February police dispersed two peaceful democratic actions: on 14 February – in honor of St. Valentine's Day and on 16 February – an action of solidarity with political prisoners and families of the missing political and civil activists. Some of participants of these actions applied for medical aid. No one was detained.
05.02.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in January 2009
The universal financial crisis did not pass Belarus. The National Bank set a new currency exchange rate, as a result of which the Belarusian ruble was at once devalued by 20%, which inflicted loss to ordinary citizens and the importers who bought goods for currency.
14.01.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in December 2008
The last month of the year summed up its results and eloquently showed that, despite the demonstrative wish of the authorities to lead a dialogue with the West, the situation of Human Rights remained the same. On one hand, two (only two!) independent newspapers were returned to the state distribution system, the republican Human Rights and the educational association For Freedom was registered (on the fourth attempt). On the other hand, the pressurization of dissidents continued.
12.01.2009 Death Penalty in Belarus
The right to life is a fundamental human right. The state must protect human life from all unlawful attempts and other threats and provide legal, social, economical, ecological and other conditions for a normal and worthy life.
09.01.2009 Review-chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in October-November 2008
At the end of September the elections to the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus were over. In October the candidates continued appealing against the official results. The Central Election Commission received 35 complaints. At its sitting on 13 October the CEC rejected the complaints of 27 candidates. On 24 October five more complaints were turned down as well. Mikalai Lazavik, secretary of the Central Election Commission, stated that the plaintiffs had no more instances to complain to: ‘according to the election laws in such issues the decision of the Central Election Commission is final and is without appeal’.
09.10.2008 Review-chronicle of human rights violations in Belarus in September 2008
On 2 September the presentation of the report Incarceration conditions in the Republic of Belarus, prepared by the International Federation for Human Rights with the aid of Belarusian Human Rights defenders, took place in Minsk. The report was composed on the basis of an international research mission and is a valuable source of information about the incarceration conditions in Belarus, as there is almost no reliable information on this issue due to absence of supervision over the penitentiary system in Belarus by any national or international agencies and institutions. During the presentation the FIDH secretary general, Louis Peres, welcomed the release of the last political prisoners by the Belarusian authorities, but stated that the situation of Human Rights in Belarus was still disturbing and the incarceration conditions in the country were extremely unsatisfactory and could be considered as a form of inhuman treatment, which is prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
08.09.2008 Review-chronicle of human rights violations in Belarus in July-August 2008
At the end of June the parliamentary electoral campaign began. That’s why July and August were defined by numerous violations in this sphere.
04.07.2008 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in June 2008
The main events in Belarus in June were the official appointment of the parliamentary elections, the start of the electoral campaign and the adoption of the new law On mass media that considerably aggravated the situation of mass media in the country and was evidently repressive. 24 June the president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenka signed order #344 On appointment of the elections to the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus of the fourth convocation. By this document the elections were appointed on 28 September 2008. Short before this the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and other Human Rights defenders stated their intention to monitor the elections.
11.06.2008 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in May 2008
In May the politically motivated court processes against participants of peaceful street actions continued. The youth activists Maxim Dashuk, Pavel Vinahradau, and Mikhail Subach were sentenced to personal restraint. Thus, the number of political prisoners increased.
16.05.2008 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in April 2008
In April the trials of several politically motivated cases were conducted in Belarus. As a result the country got 12 new political convicts, two of whom were sentenced to imprisonment. Despite the addresses of the international structures, the European countries and the US to the Belarusian authorities, politically motivated criminal persecution in Belarus continued and acquired new forms.
08.04.2008 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in March 2008
The 90th anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic and the traditional Freedom Day rally dedicated to it were the main events in March. Preparation for Freedom Day started long before the holiday. As early as on 6 February the opposition addressed Minsk city executive committee requiring the official permission for the rally. The address was filed on behalf of the chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front Party, Liavon Barshcheuski, the chairman of the United Civil Party, Anatol Liabedzka, the head of the For Freedom movement, Alexander Milinkevich, and the chairman of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Narodnaya Hramada, Mikalai Statkevich. The action participants intended to gather in Yakub Kolas Square near the Belarusian State Philharmonics and march along the Nezalezhnastsi Avenue to Valadarski Street and then continue the procession along Haradzki Val, Maxim Bahdanovich, and Yanka Kupala Streets up to Yanka Kupala Square. The authorities kept their usual position and proposed their own route – from the Academy of Sciences to Banhalor Square. The action organizers did not obey to this requirement of the authorities. On 25 March the Minister of Interior Uladzimir Navumau stated that in the case the rally did not follow the officially proposed route, the police would interrupt the action with the use of physical force and riot gear.
07.03.2008 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in February 2008
In February Belarusian human rights defenders paid most attention to political prisoners and politically motivated criminal cases. The main event this month was the abolishment of the politically motivated verdicts to the youth activist Artur Finkevich and the journalist Alexander Zdvizhkou, as a result of which both were released from jail. The authorities also granted parole to the entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich and Yury Liavonau and the oppositional politician Andrei Klimau. However, despite the demands of the EU and the US the former candidate to president of Belarus Alexander Kazulin remained behind bars. He was proposed release from jail in exchange for emigration to Germany and cessation of political activities. In addition, the authorities demonstrated an exceptional violence in relation to Kazulin’s family. His wife Iryna died of cancer and the authorities didn’t let him go to the funeral for two days. It cannot but be considered as a violation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified by Belarus.
09.02.2008 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in January 2008
This time the beginning of the year was warmer than usual. The total crackdown of Belarusian authorities on the social and economic spheres of life increased the mood of protest, which resulted in aggravated repressions against the most active protesters. Despite the fact that January events were a planned continuation of the December entrepreneurs’ meeting, authorities were not ready for the decisive attempts of the entrepreneurs to protect their right to work. Presidential decree #760 of 29 December 2006, by which the entrepreneurs were deprived of the right to employ any workers except for three close relatives from January 2008, made many workers of small business redundant. It also affected ordinary citizens – the markets became empty, many stalls were closed, route taxis to markets started driving more rarely, etc. All efforts of the leaders of the entrepreneurs’ movement to establish a dialogue with authorities yielded no result – witnessing that high-rank officials decided to liquidate individual entrepreneurs as an unnecessary social class. Desperate entrepreneurs had nothing to do but go out in the streets.
