News on the topic: human rights defenders
18.04.2013 Homel human rights defender seeks compensation over failure to implement UN HR Committee decisions
Human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka filed a lawsuit to the Tsentralny District Court of Homel against the Ministry of Finance demanding compensation for moral damages due to the failure of the authorities to implement the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee. He estimates the moral damage at the amount of the salary of a Member of Parliament within four years of office.
15.04.2013 Lidziya Yarmoshyna ignores proposal of Vitsebsk human rights defender
Human rights defender Leanid Svetsik applied to the Central Election Commission with the proposal to introduce amendments to the Electoral Code. In particular, he asked to supply Article 11 of the Electoral Code with the notion of the legal status of election commissions. In her answer the CEC head informed him that his application wouldn't be considered on its merits.
15.04.2013 Trial of Piotr Ivanov postponed to 17 April
The trial of Vitsebsk citizen Piotr Ivanov, detained at the building of the regional road police on 12 April, started the same day. Mr. Ivanov solicited for the admission of his counsel to the trial. Andrei Preis, Judge of Pershamaiski Distrit Court of Vitsebsk, granted the petition. Piotr Ivanov was given time until 11.00 a.m. on 17 April in order to conclude a service agreement with a counsel, and was set free until then.
12.04.2013 Youth Human Rights Movement gets nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Norwegian Nobel Committee included the Youth Human Rights Movement in the list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize 2013. This network of organizations was nominated for the prize for educational and human rights activities in different countries. This became a peculiar gift to the human rights defenders on the International Day of Youth Actions for Human Rights, 9 April.
12.04.2013 Public viewing and discussion on film "Torture in Belarus. Apocalypsis"
On 15 April the Lithuanian cinema festival "Inconvenient Cinema" and the Belarusian Human Rights House invite all interested persons to the opening view of a documentary about tortures and cases of cruel and inhumane treatment of citizens by law-enforcement officers, and the following discussion with the film producer and its heroes.
08.04.2013 Homel: human rights defenders ask Education Minister to include works of Roma in the school curriculum
Homel human rights defenders Maryia Klimovich and Ales Yauseyenka filed a letter to the Education Minister Siarhei Maskevich, asking him to include in the school curriculum poems and novels.
08.04.2013 "Amnesty International" sues against prohibition of picket near Belarusian Embassy in Moscow
The international human rights organization decided to file a lawsuit against the prohibition of a picket near the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus by Moscow authorities.
05.04.2013 Website of Mahiliou "Viasna" branch resumed its activity
The website of Mahiliou branch of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", mahilyowspring.org, started working again. The deleted two-year's information was restored, the slandering articles, published by unidentified persons, were deleted. Specialists are working at the increase of its security.
05.04.2013 Swedish human rights defenders demand to exclude Belarus from "Eurovision" contest
Their other demand is to exclude the Belarusian TV from the European Broadcasting Union.
04.04.2013 Restrictions on access of human rights defenders to foreign financing contribute to impunity
Paris-Geneva, 3 April 2013. In a recent annual report Observatory for the Protection of human rights defenders drew attention to the new negative trends affecting the effective work of human rights defenders. Restrictions on access to financing, particularly foreign, are increasingly used by governments, which tend to make defenders silenced.
04.04.2013 Human rights defenders issue a statement concerning the cracking of the website of Mahiliou "Viasna" branch
In the evening of 2 April unidentified persons acquired unauthorized access to the website of Mahiliou branch of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and published an article with threats to indpendent journalist Ales Burakou on behalf of human rights defender Barys Bukhel. The unknown offenders hacked the website security and changed the administrator's passwords.
02.04.2013 Human Rights Center “Viasna” starts working in new office
On 1 April, the opening day of the new office of the HRC “Viasna”, the human rights defenders presented new analytical editions, shared their plans for the future and defined the priorities for their current activities.
01.04.2013 Babruisk: presentation of book about Ales Bialiatski held not far from the penal colony where he is kept
On 30 March the presentation of the books "Bialiatski's Case" and "Enlightened by Belarusian Issue" was held in Babruisk.
28.03.2013 Belarusian NGOs call on Russian authorities to stop harassment of human rights defenders
Representatives of Belarusian NGOs issued a joint statement on the recent facts of persecution of NGOs and human rights defenders in the Russian Federation.
27.03.2013 Chairman of Hrodna Regional Court confirms fines to human rights defenders
Hrodna human rights defenders Viktar Sazonau, Raman Yurhel and Uladzimir Khilmanovich received a response to their complaint, signed by Chairman of Hrodna Regional Court Aliaksandr Hrynkevich. The activists challenged the decision of Leninski District Court of Hrodna, who fined them 1.5 million rubles each for posting a photo on the Internet in solidarity with Ales Bialiatski and the later decision by Hrodna Regional Court on the review of the appeal.
