The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

19.10.2010 Trial against "Tell the Truth" activist Mikhas Bashura resumed

The court trial against Mikhas Bashura will be resumed on October18 in Savetski district court of Minsk. According to Radio Liberty, the activist of the "Tell the Truth" campaign is under trial for alleged repeated document forgery.

19.10.2010 Lawyer: There's no corpus delicti in Bashura's case

The certificate allegedly forged by Mikhas Bashura did not influence the bank's decision on whether to provide him credit. This was informed today in court by the "Belarusbank" employee Iryna Shytsik. She said the salaries of other guarantors were big enough to receive credit.

15.10.2010 Mikhail Bashura to be given new charges

The representative of the accusation Halina Koneva asked the court to give her some time to prepare a new accusation. As a result, the judge of the Savetski District Court of Minsk Kiryl Palupekh announced a break in the proceedings till 10 a.m. on 18 October.

12.10.2010 Activist of 'Speak Truth!' Mikhail Bashura remains in custody

The activist of the civil campaign Speak Truth! Mikhail Bashura remains in custody. The court refused to change the restraint and release him under a written undertaking not to leave.

07.10.2010 Another suspect in ‘arson cases’ released from jail

On 6 October the human rights activist Barys Ashchepkau was released from the Minsk pre-trial prison.

05.10.2010 Mikalai Dziadok charged with participation in anti-military action near General Staff

On 1 October the youth activist Mikalai Dziadok was charged with involvement in the action of protest against the Belarusian-Russian military training West 2009 that was held near the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense on 19 September 2009.

01.10.2010 Authorities started haunting Ales Straltsou and Aleh Korban

The civil activist Ales Straltsou keeps receiving telephone calls from some ‘Siarhei Ivanavich’ who wants to talk about the old ‘Process of 14’ and its participants. He even agreed to come to the meeting on his own.

01.10.2010 Another attempt to draft Yauhen Yakavenka

In June 2010 the member of the Party of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Yauhen Yakavenka was sentenced to 1 year of personal restraint with direction to an open penitentiary institution for the demand to be assigned to an alternative civilian service. Recently Mr. Yakavenka has received an answer from the Ministry of Defense to his request to be assigned to alternative civilian service. The answer, signed by the commissioner of the Homel City Executive Committee, colonel Yafimchyk, reads that the correspondence with the draftee on this matter is stopped.

27.09.2010 Police keep arresting suspects in Russian embassy arson case

Minsk police arrested another suspect in the case of the recent arson on the territory of the Russian embassy. On 25 September, Ihar Trukhanovich was invited for a conversation and later detained by the police. The youth is currently in Detention Center in Akrestsin street and is facing charged under Article 339 of the Criminal Code – ‘hooliganism’.

17.09.2010 Green activist Valodzin released

On 17 September, green activist Uladzimir Valodzin was released after 9 days of arrest. However, the activist is still facing criminal charges in three cases.

09.09.2010 Anarchists get released and arrested again

At first 7 activists of the Belarusian anarchist movement were detained for three days, allegedly on suspicion in involvement with the attempt to set the Russian Embassy in Minsk on fire with the use of Molotov cocktail on 3 September. Then they were detained within the frames of a criminal case related to the Palace of Trade Unions.

07.09.2010 Statement of secretariat of Union of Belarusian Writers concerning detention of Mikhail Bashura

More than a month ago, on 6 August 2010, the member of the Union of Belarusian Writers, poet and editor Mikhail Bashura was forcedly detained. The investigation charged him with an ‘economical crime’ – the forgery of financial documents so that his wife could receive a bank loan. Ignoring the presumption of innocence and the possibility of a mistake, they charge Mikhail Bashura with the forgery of the certificate from the place of his work.

06.09.2010 Detention of anarchists

At about 6 a.m. on 3 September, a group of anarchists was detained by the police in connection with the arson in the Russian Embassy in Belarus. One of the detainees was interrogated about the incident near the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Minsk, at the territory of which Molotov cocktails had been pelted, and was released at about 7 p.m. the same day. Mikalai Dziadok, Aliaksandr Frantskevich, Ihar Istazarau, Valeryia Khotsina, Anton Laptsionak, Siarhei Sliusarau and Aliaksei Zhynherouski are still under arrest in the detention center in Akrestin Street in Minsk and are being interrogated within about the arson.

03.09.2010 Confiscated belongings still not returned to Siarhei Trafimchyk

The activist of the For Freedom movement Siarhei Trafimchyk still cannot get back the things that were confiscated from his home during the search that had been conducted on 22 April by KGB within the framework of the investigation of the criminal case against Ales Zarembiuk who is charged with forgery. The KGB officers confiscated a printer, computer hard disk drives, several tens of CDs and DVDs with music and movies and many papers.