News on the topic: torture
01.09.2020 KGB tortures political prisoners held on rioting charges
Aliaksandr Frantskevich, an anarchist facing “rioting” charges, was tortured after his arrest by the KGB on August 13, according to his former cellmate.
31.08.2020 “So you are for Tsikhanouskaya?” Survivor stories
The Human Rights Center “Viasna” and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) launched a campaign to document cases of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of protesters on August 9-13. Some testimonies of people who survived torture and violence will be published on our website as evidence of crimes committed by security forces.
27.08.2020 “Now we’ll show you how to s..t your pants." Survivor stories
On August 11, Dzianis Selivankin was approached by two police officers at the intersection of Pieramožcaŭ Avenue and Mieĺnikajte Street. What they saw in Dzianis’s Telegram enraged them.
26.08.2020 NGOs call on UN Human Rights Council to convene extraordinary session on Belarus crisis
The UN Human Rights Council must urgently convene a special session to address the human rights crisis in Belarus, where authorities have launched a full-scale crackdown following disputed presidential elections, Amnesty International and 15 other international and Belarusian NGOs said today in an open letter.
24.08.2020 HRDs request UN intervention in Belarus torture reports
The Human Rights Center “Viasna”, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) have written to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to express their grave concern and to call upon intervention in relation to the violent crackdown against peaceful protesters in the aftermath of the presidential elections held on 9 August 2020 in Belarus.
24.08.2020 “We were trampled in the police bus.” Survivor stories
The Human Rights Center “Viasna” and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) launched a campaign to document cases of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of protesters on August 9-13. Some testimonies of people who survived torture and violence will be published on our website as evidence of crimes committed by security forces.
20.08.2020 10 points on torture and ill-treatment reports
After thousands peaceful protesters were detained and hundreds were subjected to inhuman treatment on August 9 and in the following days, the Human Rights Center "Viasna" together with the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) began to collect testimonies of victims and document them.
19.08.2020 OSCE/ODIHR alarmed by increasing threats to human rights in Belarus following presidential election
Following the large-scale arrests of peaceful protestors in Belarus together with disturbing reports of violent physical abuse, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) calls for the immediate release of all those who have been unlawfully detained and a prompt and impartial investigation into alleged human rights abuses.
19.08.2020 44 protesters still in detention, 13 missing, one more reported dead
44 people detained during the post-election protests remain in custody, after they were sentenced to short terms of administrative detention, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
18.08.2020 A carpet of bodies: one woman’s ordeal in detention in Belarus
“It’s change you wanted? Here is some change for you! Want some more? Next time you’ll know when to stay home!” This is what police shouted at the men at one of Minsk’s main detention centres, as they beat them mercilessly.
17.08.2020 Interior Ministry pledges to release remaining protesters today. Dozens detainees still missing
The remaining 122 protesters have been released from the detention centers of Belarus, the bulk of them in Žodzina and Brest, the Interior Ministry’s spokesperson said. The list has been published by the Prosecutor General’s Office. Six persons are still being held as part of “ongoing investigations.”
17.08.2020 Viasna insists on criminal charges against security officers amid vast torture evidence
Human rights activists of “Viasna” appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office demanding immediate initiation of a criminal case against law enforcement officers who abused their authority in dispersing peaceful demonstrators.
15.08.2020 UN Secretary-General: Allegations of torture must be thoroughly investigated
UN Secretary-General's Spokesman - on Belarus
14.08.2020 Belarusian human rights organizations urge Interior Minister to stop torture and police abuse
Statement by Belarusian human rights organizations
14.08.2020 Hundreds of protesters released from prisons. Torture reports mount
Several hundred protesters were released from the three detention centers in Minsk and Žodzina last night, while the exact number of them remains unknown. Many of them were taken away in ambulances immediately after leaving the prisons.
