News on the topic: human rights defenders
22.06.2014 Civil Rights Defenders: Ales Bialiatski released after 1052 days behind bars
Ales Bialiatski, Belarus leading human rights defender and the head of the human rights organisation Viasna, was in 2011 imprisoned on trumped up charges. 21 June – after 1052 days behind bars – he was released and could reunite with his family, friends and colleagues.
20.06.2014 Human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka: I’ll find online detractors
On June 19, Judge Anatol Sotnikau of Homel’s Chyhunachny District Court granted an appeal lodged by local human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka against an earlier decision by the District Police Department who closed a defamation case initiated by the human rights activist after unknown persons insulted and slandered against him and other activists of the Homel region on the website gomelbest.com.
18.06.2014 UN Human Rights Committee to consider complaint by Hrodna defender Viktar Sazonau
The UN Human Rights Committee admitted to consideration a complaint by Viktar Sazonau, a human rights defender from Hrodna, Radio Racyja reports.
17.06.2014 BHC petitions Constitutional Court to address discrimination of Belarusian language
The Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the well-known lawyer and human rights defender Hary Pahaniayla sent a petition to the Constitutional Court to highlight the flaws of language-related legislation, which result in the discrimination of one of the official languages, Belarusian.
17.06.2014 Prominent human rights defender Barys Zvozskau remembered two years after death
The second anniversary of the premature death of the well-known Belarusian human rights activist Barys Zvozskau is marked today, June 17. Barys Zvozskau would have turned 63 years, the age is not critical, but the disease does not choose.
13.06.2014 The authors of individual communication filed to the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of Ales Bialiatski, addressed the Human Rights Committee with an open letter
Authors of individual communication submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of Ales Bialiatski, President of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), addressed the Human Rights Committee with an open letter. Antoine Bernard, Director-General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and Natallia Pinchuk, the wife of the political prisoner Ales Bialiatski, urge the Committee to speed up consideration of the communication that was filed two years ago.
13.06.2014 Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders: to promote and not to interfere with legitimate activities of human rights defenders
At the conference of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights held in Bern a few days ago, a special document – Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders – was adopted
11.06.2014 Belarusian human rights activists got acquainted with the Swedish system of human rights protection
In early June, the activists of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" Viktar Sazonau from Hrodna, Ales Kaputski from Maladzechna, Tamara Shchapetkina from Biaroza, and Sviatlana Lapitskaia from Zhodzina visited Stockholm to get acquainted with the Swedish system of human rights protection, and with the work of Swedish colleagues.
10.06.2014 A new human rights organization "Pact" being established in Belarus
A new human rights organization "Pact" being established in Belarus
06.06.2014 Salihorsk human rights activists demand prosecutor’s response to the career ban for those who committed an administrative offense
In February 2014, the administration of the First Mining Group decided to take measures of a radical nature against those employees who had committed an administrative offense.
31.05.2014 Human rights activists warn Russian authorities over inevitable consequences of hunt for “foreign agents”
On May 30, the Human Rights Council of Russia made a statement to condemn the authorities’ wish to put the label of “foreign agents” on any independent public activity in the country.
30.05.2014 Belarusian dissident Mikhail Kukabaka of Russian human rights activist murdered in Ukraine: Andrei Mironov’s weapon was truthful information that exposed government lies
Today, on May 30, Andrei Mironov, a Soviet political prisoner and member of the Human Rights Center “Memorial”, who laid to rest in Moscow. Andrei Mironov was killed near the city of Slovyansk in Ukraine on May 24.
30.05.2014 Belarusian human rights defender: “Ukraine had true elections”
Leanid Markhotka, a human rights activist representing the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in the town of Salihorsk, participated in monitoring the presidential election in Ukraine. Upon returning home, the observer described the difference between the Belarusian and Ukrainian elections.
29.05.2014 Human rights defenders attend conference on Belarus in Geneva
On May 27, Geneva hosted a conference on the human rights situation in Belarus with the participation of international and Belarusian human rights defenders, relatives of political prisoners and the representative of the European Union at the United Nations. The event, which was organized by the Human Rights House Foundation, was meant to precede the presentation of a report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus.
28.05.2014 Azerbaijani human rights defenders sentenced to long prison terms
A court in Baku has sentenced Anar Mammadli, chairman of EMDS (Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center) to 5.5 years of imprisonment. His deputy Bashir Suleymanli was sentenced to 3.5 years and arrested in the courtroom. The head of the Public Association for International Cooperation of Volunteers Elnur Mammadov was given the same term with 2 years on probation.
