15.02.2010 Minsk: St. Valentine Day action dispersed by riot police. Tatsiana Shaputska has cranial trauma

About 30 young democratic activists were detained by police as a result of the violent dispersal of the St. Valentine Day action in the center of Minsk. Riot policemen grabbed them by hands and feet and threw into paddy wagons. Two hours after the detention the police released the detainees without giving any charges.

06.01.2010 Results of Uladzimir Hrydzin’s complaints against unlawful actions of police

Officers of the Pershamaiski district police department of Minsk partially confessed the violations towards the journalist Uladzimir Hrydzin on 29 September, whereas the Pershamaiski district guard department of MIA states that its officers didn’t violate any legal norms by their actions.

17.12.2009 Brest Prosecutor’s Office turns down complaint by Young Front activist Mikhas Ilyin

Brest Leninski Prosecutor’s Office turns down complaint by Young Front member Mikhas Ilyin, urging to prosecute unknown policemen and plain clothes persons who beat the activist during the 17 September picket in downtown Brest. Mikhas Ilyin says the decision is not fair, since the prosecutor’s supervision was far from being complete.

30.10.2009 BAJ never got answer to complaint regarding attack on journalists

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Minsk prosecutor’s office haven’t responded to the appeal of the Belarusian Association of Journalists regarding the events on September 16.

The journalists are going to file a complaint to higher authorities if an answer is not received by next week.

Euroradio learnt this from BAJ deputy head, lawyer Andrei Bastunets.

“Theoretically, the letter might have been sent, but a post office hasn’t delivered it. We are going to wait for some days, if we don’t get a response, we’ll complain.

23.10.2009 “Young front” activists beaten for Belarusian language

On October 22 in Barysau known persons beat Young Front members Maxim Akhrymenka and Yury Bahdanovich during collection of signatures in support of the Belarusian language.

“We collected signatures among passers-by together, when four unknown people in plainclothes came near us,” Maxim Akhrymenka said to mfront.net website. “They asked whether we are Young Front members, and when we said yes, they started to beat us”.

As said by the young activist, when police patrol saw the fight, policemen turned around and went the other way. Then people in plainclothes disappeared.

23.10.2009 Opposition activist beaten by police

Zmitser Kuchun, member of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada), has been beaten by the police, Radio Racyja reports. Representatives of Masty district police department charged the activist with disobedience of orders and disorderly conduct. However, Masty Regional Court redirected the case to the local prosecutor’s office to verify the legality of the actions by the police, which Mr. Kuchun calls ‘gangsterism’: ‘I was hit several times at the head from aback, then four policemen knocked me down and started kicking me with their feet. I would not call those persons policemen – in my opinion, they are simply gangsters’, says Zmitser Kuchun. The beating of the activist was witnessed by his wife.

19.10.2009 Lyabedzka demands bring Minsk riot militiamen to criminal responsibility

The head of the United Civil Party referred to Prosecutor General of Belarus Ryhor Vasilevich.

Anatol Lyabedzka demands to organize investigation over the facts of unlawful actions of law enforcement officers and bring them to criminal responsibility, BelaPAN reports.

A ground for the appeal was forceful dispersal of a picket of solidarity held on October square of Minsk on October 16.

Anatol Lyabedzka was beaten up by militia officers during dispersal of the rally and guarding the detained to the Tsentralny district militia department.

19.10.2009 Action of solidarity dispersed brutally

The picket of solidarity in Minsk has been dispersed unprecedentedly brutally. 30 oppositionists were beaten up and arrested. Journalists were beaten as well, militia didn’t let them film this brutality.

More than a hundred of riot militiamen were thrown against the people, who came to October square in Minsk on Solidarity Day on October 16. No sooner had the protesters unfurled portrait of the political prisoners, they were beaten. A part of demonstrators sat on the ground in protest, they were beaten at first, and then forced into buses with the rest. It took only some minutes to arrest the demonstrators.

13.10.2009 Information on torture of participants of peaceful actions passed to international organizations

The Human Rights Center Viasna collected information about the facts of tortures and inhuman treatment of the detained participants of the peaceful actions held on 9 and 16 September 2009. The lawyers also prepared 6 complaints to the Tsentralny district prosecutor’s office of Minsk against the unlawful police actions and questioned some eyewitnesses of the tortures.

08.10.2009 Statkevich summonsed to own security department of MIA

On 6 October the coordinator of the European coalition Mikalai Statkevich was summonsed to the security bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The politician believes he was not the only person to be summonsed there, as the case of the beating of the participants of the 16 September action in Minsk is being investigated. However, he is convinced the police hold the investigation not to restore the justice. ‘It is done for Europe, with the hope that the sanctions will be lifted, after which they would be able to do such things with complete impunity’, commented Statkevich.

05.10.2009 Prosecutor’s office sees no law violations in beating of opposition activists

Maskouski district prosecutor’s office of Minsk answered the complaint of the activists of the civil campaign European Belarus concerning the unlawful actions of the police on 16 July 2009.

01.10.2009 Vitsebsk: police order beating of youth activist

On 30 September in the evening in the center of Vitsebsk the member of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party Ales Halavan was attacked by five persons. The member of the Conservative-Christian Party Belarusian Popular Front (CCP BPF) Siarhei Kavalenia managed to seize one of them. The seized man said that the beating of Halavan was ordered by Vitsebsk police as a revenge for the complaint that was filed by Halavan with the head of Chyhunachny district police department of Vitsebsk against the unlawful actions of police officers.

17.09.2009 Mass arrests on Solidarity Day in Belarus again

An opposition rally was brutally disbanded on September 16 in Minsk. Riot policemen prevented journalists from videoing violent arrest detention of demonstrators.

Opposition activists have gathered today on October Square in the centre of the city to pay tribute to the memory of Vice Speaker of the Supreme Soviet of the 13th convocation Viktar Hanchar, and businessman and public leader Anatol Krasouski who went missing 10 years ago. By 6 p.m., when the rally was to start, there were many riot policemen in mufti. Public transport was not stopping on the square on purpose. People were searched near the square. White-red-white flags, banners and portraits of Hanchar and Krasouski were searched.

14.09.2009 Beaten participants of peaceful actions addressed prosecutor’s office

Two youth activists who had been detained during the forced dispersal of the protest action against the arrival of the Russian troops in Belarus within the frames of the strategic training Zapad-2009 and beaten by police, addressed the prosecutor’s office with the demand to hold a check-up and bring the guilty to account.

11.09.2009 Statement of Human Rights Center ‘Viasna’: Authorities again showed complete disregard of human rights

On 9 September 2009 in Minsk a peaceful action of the citizens who came to Kastrychnitskaya Square of Minsk to express their opinion concerning the participation of the Russian military forces in the joint Bealrusian-Russian military training, was dispersed with an exceptional violence.