News on the topic: political prisoners
02.11.2011 Nasta Palazhanka is banned to go abroad
On 2 November Nasta Palazhanka, Deputy Chairwoman of the “Young Front”, was summonsed to the police without explanation of the reasons.
01.11.2011 Wives of political prisoners state about increased pressurization of their husbands
Iryna Khalip stated that the pressurization of her husband, ex-presidential candidate Andrei Sannikau, increased. “The regime won't stop at his liquidation”, she said. According to her, a man ill with tuberculosis was put in the same cell with Sannikau. He was also deprived of the opportunity to have a tete-a-tete meeting with his counsel. In addition, he was threatened with sending to another colony if the media continued writing about him. The authorities are trying to make Andrei Sannikau write an appeal for pardon.
28.10.2011 Pavel Sevyarynets may have his «restricted freedom» sentence softened
Opposition politician Pavel Sevyarynets may have his sentence of "restricted freedom" and corrective labor softened.
26.10.2011 Polish MEP calls for support of imprisoned opposition politician Bandarenka
Marek Migalski, a Polish member of the European Parliament, has called on the EP and Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, to support opposition politician Dzmitry Bandarenka who is serving a prison term in connection with last December’s post-election protest in Minsk.
25.10.2011 NGO Platforma addresses Constitutional Court
The Platforma information and educational NGO has addressed the Constitutional Court with a statement on a number of legal acts, questioning their compliance with the Basic Law, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.
12.10.2011 Last figurant of “19 December mass riot” case sentenced to three years of personal restraint
The Maskouski District Court of Minsk finished the proceedings concerning the last figurant of the 19 December case, Sviataslau Barananovich. Judge Alena Rudnitskaya found him guilty of participation in the “mass riot” and sentenced him to three years of personal restraint with direction to a penitentiary
12.10.2011 KGB refuses to return personal belongings to Anatol Liabedzka
The administration of the KGB prison, where Mr. Liabedzka was kept, refused to return him his notebooks, money and the cross he wore on his neck. The official reason is that Liabedzka cannot show his passport (which was allegedly attached to his case).
11.10.2011 Head of Shklou colony creates obstacles to Mikalai Statkevich’s marriage
Siarhei Yarmalitski, head of penal colony #17 in Shklou, purposefully refuses to sign the statement about the intention to get married, signed by the former presidential candidate, political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich. He also refused to have an audience with civil activist Krystsina Shatsikava.
11.10.2011 Friends and relatives don't receive letters from Ales Bialiatski any more
Ales Bialiatski's friends and relatives stopped receiving any letters from him. In particular, the last letter received by his wife Natallia is dated 20 September. Some of Ales's friends haven't received to three or more letters already.
11.10.2011 Niakliayeu is warned for People's Assembly
The criminal-executive inspection of the Leninski District Police Department of Minsk warned the former presidential candidate, political prisoner Uladzimir Niakliayeu, for participation in the People's Assembly on 8 October in Minsk.
05.10.2011 Human rights defenders recognize Alinevich, Dziadok and Frankevich political prisoners
Human Rights Center "Viasna" and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee recognized Ihar Alinevich, Mikalai Dziadok and Aliaksandr Frantskevich as political prisoners of the present regime. The human rights defenders came to this conclusion on the basis of analysis of the so-called “Case of Anarchists”.
05.10.2011 Autukhovich is also persuaded to sign pardon petition
According to human rights defender Aleh Volchak, Mikalai Autukhovich is subject to a continuous pressurization, like all other political prisoners. By the way, on 8 September he served a half of his prison term, which means that the prison administration could ask the court to mitigate the punishment and change it to personal restraint, home arrest, etc.
04.10.2011 Two months have passed since the arrest of Ales Bialiatski
Today, on 4 October, there turns two months since the detention of the well-known Belarusian human rights activist, vice-president of the International Federation of Human Rights Ales Bialiatski.
04.10.2011 Zmitser Dashkevich writes about his time in prison
The political prisoner needs his knee to be operated. He has written about that in his letter to his godmother Natallia Yasevich. In his another letter from prison the “Young Front” leader Zmitser Dashkevich tells about the danger he faces. He calls the last 9 months behind the bars the most difficult in his life. For the first time the political prisoner mentions he want to demand a knee surgery.
03.10.2011 Actions to immediately release political prisoners in Belarus discussed at the OSCE Human Dimension Conference
The parallel event “Ales Bialiatski: symbolical case of violation of political and political rights in Belarus after the presidential elections of 2010” took place within the framework of the yearly Human Dimension Meeting of the OSCE. It was organized by a coalition of human rights organizations including the Norwegian Human Rights Committee, Polish Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, World Organization against Torture, Amnesty International, Human Rights House Foundation, Human Rights Watch, Front Line, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Human Rights Center Viasna. It was attended by former political prisoner Aliaksandr Atroshchankau, presidential candidate Vital Rymasheuski and leaders of the democratic parties of Belarus.
