01.02.2008 Andrei Kim Faces Six Years of Jail

An activist of the youth campaign Initiative Andre Kim is charged under article 364 ‘Violent actions against a policeman’.

31.01.2008 Zmitser Zhaliznichenka nominated for student peace prize

BPF youth calls on all civic initiatives and organizations, and mass media, to join the campaign of solidarity with Zmitser Zhaliznichenka and support his candidacy. Plese, send nominations with Zmitser’s name to nomination@studentpeaceprize.org until February 11th, 2008.

30.01.2008 KGB agents are sorry 1937 remains in the past

Student of Polatsak State University Dzianis Liasun tells Viasna about the KGB attempt to recruit him.

Here’s Dzianis’s story:

On January 21st, about noon, when I was getting ready to my 4th exam, I got a phone call from deputy dean of the faculty. She told me: “Could you do perform a task, please? Come at 3 p.m. tomorrow to the office of the pro-rector for curriculum. They want to see you there.” “What is the reason?”, -- I tried to clarify. “I don’t know. They didn’t explain anything to me”, -- the deputy dean answered.

30.01.2008 Zmitser Zhaleznichenka urgently returned to Zhlobin

January 29th, Minsk. Zmitser Zhaleznichenka is urgently taken from Minsk military hospital to a military unit in Zhlobin. In the opinion of Uladzimir Labkovich, executive secretary of BPF Party, this may be linked to the great attention to the events around Zmitser paid by reporters and the leadership of BPF Party.

28.01.2008 Officers speak Belarusian with Zmitser Zhaleznichenka

Deputy Head of BPF Party Aliaksei Yanukevich and executive secretary of BPF Uladzimir Labkovich visited the military unit in Zhlobin, where Zmitser Zhaliznichenka was sent for service. Zmitser Zhaleznichenka is a member of BPF, a straight-A student, who had just been expelled from Homel State University for his political activity.

Representatives of the party leadership passed the words of support to Zmitser and learned first-hand details about the shameful detention of Zmitser on January 24th, just before he was sent to the army.

14.01.2008 Become Member of Pro-Lukashenka Youth Union to Enter University?

Soon there will be enforced the new rules for entering high schools. The Ministry of Education proposes to introduce a norm obliging the pretenders to education on a number of specialities to present letters of introduction.

08.01.2008 KGB Watches Foreign Trips of Belarusian Students

Agents of the KGB are interested in foreign trips of Belarusian students. They phone activists of youth democratic movement and offer them to meet in their offices or in the street.

10.12.2007 Youth Activist Katsiaryna Salauyova Gets Rehabilitated at University

Katsiaryna Salauyova was informed about it by the rector of Polatsk State University during an unofficial talk. However, he said that she could be expelled again after the first detention or other punishment.

07.12.2007 Activist of BPF Youth Threatened with Property Confiscation and Travel Restrictions

Today the activist of the BPF Youth Zmitser Zhaleznichenka was summonsed to Chyhunachny district court of Homel. The court marshal Dzianis Saponenka demanded from the activist explanations why he did not pay any fines.

07.12.2007 Vitsebsk: Aliaksandr Danileuski Sentenced to 180 Hours of Corrective Labor

The first-year student of the European Humanities University Aliaksandr Danileuski has been punished with 180 hours of corrective labor within the frames of the Criminal Case under article 380, part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (forging, production, usage or distribution of forged documents, seals and blanks).

05.12.2007 Polatsk: Katsiaryna Salauyova Expelled from Polatsk State University

Today the official order for Katsyaryna Salauyova’s expulsion from Polatsk State University has been signed. The activist’s group mates began to gather signatures in her support.

29.11.2007 University Graduate to Pay 22 Million

seniya Avimava, a free-lance correspondent of a non-governmental economic weekly “Belarusians and Market”, is to disburse 22 million roubles for her refusal to honor the post-study working assignment and work for two years at Valozhyn state regional newspaper “Pracounaja Slava” (“Working Glory”).

14.11.2007 Mahiliou: Does Belarusian TV Prepare New Film about Opposition?

On 13 November the shooting crew of the Belarusian TV consisting of a cameraman Vasil Lasenkou and a journalist Alena Bardzikouskaya wanted to take an interview from a student of Mahiliou State University. However, the methods of their work arise some questions.

14.11.2007 Human Rights Activists Demand to Abolish Forced State Assignment of Graduates

This year 65 criminal cases have been brought against the high school graduates who failed to get to the places of work assignment. The present legislation treats such behavior as evasion from duties and demands from the people to pay off the costs that had been already spent by the state for their education. The numbers differ, but in general it is about 3-5 thousand US dollars, the average wage being about 200 dollars.

12.11.2007 18 Months of Corrective Labor for Seminar in Poland

An activist of the Belarusian Popular Front Party, a teacher from the village of Talka Natallia Illinich was tried for ‘instigation for falsification of documents’ and sentenced to 18 months of corrective labor with paying 20% of salary to the state.