The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

09.08.2012 Journalists Yuliya Darashkevich and Iryna Kozlik punished with fines

In the evening of 8 August police detained journalists Yuliya Darashkevich and Iryna Kozlik while they were making photos for a virtual poster with paratrooper bears within the frames of a solidarity action with the imprisoned photographer Anton Surapin.

09.08.2012 Fine for honest elections without Lukashenka

Leu Marholin, a deputy head of the United Civil Party, and his election agent Mikhail Vasiliieu have been fined for holding an election picket.

09.08.2012 “BelSat” journalists detained in Vitsebsk

Police detained Volha Starostina and Dzyanis Mikhailau as they were shooting a reportage.

07.08.2012 General procuracy to human rights defenders: no grounds to consider Your appeal

The General Procuracy answered the address of the heads of a number of human rights organizations concerning the problem of preventive detentions and administrative punishment of civil activists and representatives of youth opposition group by sending a letter to the E-mail address of the Human Rights Center “Viasna”.

06.08.2012 Navapolatsk: detention for banner “Freedom to Bialiatski!”

In the evening of 5 August an activist of the civil association “Free Region” Aliaksandr Drazdou was detained during an attempt to hang out a banner “Freedom to Bialiatski!”.

06.08.2012 Vaukavysk: activist detained for posters “Freedom to Bialiatski!”

Civil activist Vital Huliak was detained while posting leaflets “Freedom to Ales Bialiatski!” in the center of Vaukavysk. As he said to RFE/RL over the telephone, he did it in order to express solidarity with Ales Bialiatski, marking the international solidarity day with the civil society of Belarus.

03.08.2012 Rasony: road police confiscate image production of “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”

The operation was conducted by officers of the “Typhoon” unit of the road police of the Vitsebsk region. In the evening of 2 August a car carrying stationery, bags and T-shirts with logos of “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” was stopped by the road police.

01.08.2012 Minsk: detention of “European Belarus” activists

Mikita Kavalenka and Aliaksei Tsioply were detained for handing out information bulletins “Charter'97”.

01.08.2012 Mahiliou: Aliaksei Paulouski detained for collecting signatures

Aliaksei Paulouski, an activist of the Independent Trade Union of Radio Electronic Industry was detained in a dormitory building for “Zenit” plant workers, while gathering signatures to nominate Ryhor Antanovich and Uladzimir Punchanka as parliamentary candidates, RFE/RL reports.

30.07.2012 Mahiliou police disperse international camp

Mahiliou police have reportedly ordered to raise a camp arranged by young Social Democrats attended by some 50 guests, including foreign nationals.

27.07.2012 Activist detained on Independence Day

Mrs. Nina Bahinskaya, activist of the Belarusian Popular Front “Christian Conservative Party”, has been detained while displaying a white-red-white flag outside Minsk Pershamaiski District Court.

Human rights activists urge Supreme Court and Prosecutor General's Office to discuss situation with illegal preventive detentions of civil society activists

26.07.2012 Human rights activists urge Supreme Court and Prosecutor General's Office to discuss situation with illegal preventive detentions of civil society activists

Representatives of a number of leading human rights organizations of Belarus – Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights Center "Viasna", Committee for the Protection of the Repressed "Solidarity", the Centre for Legal Transformation and the Center for Human Rights – have sent a joint appeal to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Aliaksandr Kaniuk and Chairman of the Supreme Court of Belarus Valiantsin Sukala requesting a meeting to discuss the situation with illegal preventive detentions of civil society activists and representatives of youth opposition groups, in order to put an end to this illegal practice and bring the perpetrators to justice.

26.07.2012 Journalist Vital Ruhain detained again

The journalist is expected to be tried on July 26.

25.07.2012 Victims interrogated instead of guilty ones

After complaints on the policemen, investigators interrogated not the guilty ones, but the victims.

Several young people who were forcibly detained in Minsk during a meeting with an expert on nuclear energy Georgy Lepin, complained to the prosecutor office on the illegal actions of police officers.