The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for October 2008

14.10.2008 State officials can visit Europea, but opposition activists can’t

The leader of the Young Front Zmitser Dashkevich commented to the Charter’97 press center on a decision of the EU Council to lift visa bans on Lukashenka and his officials. It should be reminded that the authorities banned the youth leader to leave Belarus.

13.10.2008 Law machinery to conceal information about criminal cases

According to a new ruling mass media would not be able to receive information about celebrated criminal cases without written permission of the judge who tries it. As written in the Yurist magazine, the general procuracy, the State Control Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, KGB and the Ministry of Justice have determined the order of informing mass media about celebrated criminal cases and the crimes that ‘undermine the authority of the state power’.

13.10.2008 Ex-candidates for parliament campaign for non-recognition of parliamentary election

As the BelaPAN informs, former candidates for the parliament belonging to the entrepreneurs’ have started a campaign for finding the latest election to the parliament invalid.

13.10.2008 Even children are interrogated concerning ‘blast case’

Yauhen Herasimenka, 9-year-old citizen of the village of Verameiki, was summonsed to the police in connection with the investigation of the case concerning the blast that had taken place on 4 July in Minsk. Yauhen’s mother informed about it Raman Razhdzestvenski, journalist for Krychau newspaper Volny Horad. According to her, the police were going even to take her son’s fingerprints. The boy was to have come to the police department on 9 October, but the mother did not let him go there to save him from possible psychical traumas.

13.10.2008 Teachers are prevented from attending action of Union of Poles in Belarus

About 100 teachers of Polish language haven’t been allowed to come to Hrodna for a concert organized by the Union of Poles in Belarus headed by Anzhalika Borys.

11.10.2008 Procuracy is not interested in falsification of elections

The procuracy refused to consider the complaint of the secretary of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party Dzianis Sadouski, ex-candidate at Masiukoushchynskaya electoral constituency #103. The day after the elections Sadouski directed to the procuracy the statements and acts about violations of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus, which had been composed by him and his proxies.

11.10.2008 Military enlistment office wants Pavel Nazdra to pay fine twice

On 9 October the member of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party Pavel Nazdra was summonsed to court. It is demanded that he should pay a fine, which he has already paid. He presented to the court a copy of the payment receipt, but the court ignored it.

11.10.2008 Shklou: ‘draft’ protocols are not considered as a violation of the electoral laws

On 28 September, the Election Day, a member of Shklou constituency election commission Piatro Mihurski found three invalid final protocols of precinct election commissions. Two of them were from the village of Alexandria (the birthplace of Alexander Lukashenka). One of them was not filled, but was signed by the members of the commissions (so that the necessary numbers could be put later). The other was filled in pencil and also signed by members of the commission. The third (from the village of Bushliaki), was not filled, but was signed as well. As a result Piatro Mihurski refused to sign the protocol on the election results, which was prepared by Shklou constituency election commission. Instead he demanded that his commission annulled the results of the election s at Shklou constituency. He also addressed the Central election commission with an appropriate application.

11.10.2008 Salihorsk: police beat human rights activist

On 9 October in Salihorsk the human rights activist Yana Palyakova was beaten up by unknown people. She was beaten again at the police department. She said in an interview to RFE/RL she had been attacked at 5 in the evening.

11.10.2008 More than 160 people were executed in Belarus for 11 years

Europe marks the Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October. Belarus is the only country in Europe where death penal wasn’t abolished and is used rather often.

09.10.2008 Review-chronicle of human rights violations in Belarus in September 2008

On 2 September the presentation of the report Incarceration conditions in the Republic of Belarus, prepared by the International Federation for Human Rights with the aid of Belarusian Human Rights defenders, took place in Minsk. The report was composed on the basis of an international research mission and is a valuable source of information about the incarceration conditions in Belarus, as there is almost no reliable information on this issue due to absence of supervision over the penitentiary system in Belarus by any national or international agencies and institutions. During the presentation the FIDH secretary general, Louis Peres, welcomed the release of the last political prisoners by the Belarusian authorities, but stated that the situation of Human Rights in Belarus was still disturbing and the incarceration conditions in the country were extremely unsatisfactory and could be considered as a form of inhuman treatment, which is prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

09.10.2008 Authorities blacklist more movies

Thanks to the vigilance of the Belarusian authorities new items are regularly added to the list of ‘extremist’ (prohibited) cinema and video production. At present this list includes the movie Lesson of the Belarusian Language by the Polish film producer Miroslaw Dembinski, the video recording of the concert Solidary with Belarus from Warsaw and even CDs with photos of the protest action during the presidential elections 2006. These materials were confiscated from Mahiliou journalist Alexander Burakou and were declared ‘extremist’ by verdict of a judge of Kastrychnitski district court of Hrodna Alexander Burakou.

09.10.2008 Innocent ex-policeman is justified

At the assized court in the district center Sharkoushchyna the judge Liudmila Laryna justified the former policeman Alexander Babich, who had been sentenced to 26 months of conditional imprisonment.

09.10.2008 Ministry of Economy prepares new hardships for businessmen

The Ministry of Economy of Belarus is set to increase the administrative fine for legal entities.

08.10.2008 Procuracy forwards journalists to KGB

Recently Aliaksei Bely, member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, has received an answer from the procuracy of Minsk to his request for returning his property that had been confiscated as a result of a search on 27-28 March in his apartment, as well as in apartments and offices of many other journalists. The official reason for the search was a criminal case that had been brought in 2005 for defamation of the president by distribution of political cartoons on the web.