24.08.2009 Supreme Court ignores appeal by human rights activists

The Belarusian Human Rights House and the Human Rights House Foundation have received a reply to their appeal to the Supreme Court of Belarus. The official letter signed by Deputy Chair of the Supreme Court Valery Vyshkevich left the appeal without reply saying that the claimants ‘are not legally interested persons’ under the Civil Procedural Code of Belarus.

24.08.2009 New Life church believers continue opposing building seizure

Members of the New Life Protestant Church keep opposing church building seizure by the city authorities, this time obstructing an inspection by Minsk city emergency situations service, the BelaPAN news agency reports quoting the church’s lawyer Siarhei Lukanin. The eviction notice was served by the city authorities on 22 August after the Supreme Economic Court of Belarus resolved to seize the church building. However, court officers have not yet visited the church.

24.08.2009 Poster “Communism=Fascism” considered insanitariness

Administrative reports were drawn up against “Young Front” activists Mikalai Dzyamidzenka and Hanna Bunko.

The youth activists held an action on Independence Square in Minsk on August 23 – they fixed a poster “Communism=Fascism” to the monument to Lenin. The young people were detained by militia and guards of the House of Government.

Dzyamidzenka and Bunko were guarded to the Maskouski district militia department of Minsk, where administrative reports on the article “insanitariness” were drawn up against them, Radio Svaboda reports.

24.08.2009 NTV journalist Aleksey Malkov: “Belarusian secret services threatened me openly”

The deported Russian journalist says people in mufti questioned him in a neglected sanatorium in the forest.

We remind that a film crew of the Russian NTV channel, namely journalist Andrei Malkov and camera operator Yury Babenko, was deported from Belarus on August 14. The film crew was making a report about the missing politicians and public activists. The Russian journalist interviewed the wife of parliamentary vice speaker Viktar Hanchar disappeared in 1999 and the wife of journalist Zmitser Zavadski, who disappeared in 2000. The international community accuses a number of high-ranking Belarusian officials from Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s inner circle of their involvement in the kidnapping.

21.08.2009 FIDH expert comments on Viasna’s case

Kirill Koroteev, Mission Delegate of the International Federation for Human Rights, has commented on the case of the Human Rights Center Viasna, facing repeated refusals by the state registration bodies, as well as the situation in the field of Belarusian NGOs, in general. Mr.Koroteev attended the consideration of Viasna’s complaint at the Supreme Court on 12-17 August 2009, calling the final verdict a disgrace of Belarusian justice.

21.08.2009 Belarusian entrepreneurs call for legal appraisal of businessmen’s cases by Eastern Partnership

The criminal cases of Vaukavyssk businessmen Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Liavonau, Uladzimir Asipenka, as well as that of Artsiom Dubski, may receive legal appraisal in the framework of the Eastern Partnership cooperation project, the BelaPAN news agency reports quoting human rights activist Ihar Lednik. According to Mr.Lednik, the Belarusian authorities are trying to manipulate the opinions of European politicians pertaining to the criminal cases initiated after a series of protest rallies against the new staff-employment restrictions.

21.08.2009 Prosecutor’s office warned Mahilou journalist for working for Belsat

Member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists Volha Sharapkina is punished for activity without accreditation.

As Radio Svaboda reports, the journalist got a warning from the prosecutor’s office of the Chavusy district. According to Volha Sharapkina, the reason was her report about the children’s home in Chavusy shown on independent Belsat TV channel.

“Prosecutor of Chavusy Syarhei Kinau gave me the warning,” Volha Sharapkina tells. “He said I had the right to appeal against the warning. I am going to take legal advice. We made a report about a charity action in the children’s home.

21.08.2009 Belarusian dictator spat upon Europe again

Alyaksandr Lukashenka said he wasn’t going to release political prisoners and hold free elections.

“Europe should understand that is it necessary to respect each other if they want to build good relations with Belarus,” Lukashenka said during his visit to the Vitsebsk region.

“We are ready for a dialogue with Europe on all issues. This dialogue seems to be going well,” Lukashenka said. He added: “I’ll tell about a problem. If they make conditions for as and think that Lukashenka won’t have another way out, as Russia used to think we had bad relations with Russia, they will fail.” “We have good, excellent relations with Russia. Yes, we have problems. But only those who do nothing have no problems,” the Belarusian ruler said.

20.08.2009 Prosecution of Yauhen Volkau stopped

On 20 August Minsk City Prosecutor’s Office has terminated criminal prosecution of Yauhen Volkau, member of the Unification Church Belarusian office accused of illegal membership in the religious organization under Article 193-1 of the Criminal Code. The official letter received by Mr.Volkau says the case has been suspended ‘for lack of corpus delicti.’ The criminal prosecution of Yauhen Volkau was the first case against members of unregistered religious organizations initiated by the Belarusian law enforcement bodies since the notorious Article 193-1 came into effect in 2006.

20.08.2009 Businesswoman tortured by police, says Belarusian Deputy Prosecutor General

Aliaksei Stuk, vice-head of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus, has officially admitted that the arrest of entrepreneur Sviatlana Dvaraninava was accompanied by grave legal violations. According to Mrs.Dvaraninava, she has received an official reply, stating that upon completion of a special scrutiny Deputy Prosecutor General admitted that her rights had been violated during Mrs.Dvaraninava’s arrest in 2004 – she was illegally compelled to testify against herself and deprived of food and water for two days, which is considered as torture by the International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Mr.Stuk also said the person responsible for the abuse has been dismissed.

20.08.2009 Belarusians urged to mark European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism

A number of Belarusian NGOs, including the For Freedom movement, Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, the Union of Poles in Belarus etc., have called upon Belarusian citizens to mark European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism on 23 August. They are planning to organize a trip of remembrance to the Katyn Massacre Memorial in Smolensk region, Russia, where some 15,000 persons of various nationalities were murdered by the Soviet special police in 1940.

20.08.2009 Belarusian Evangelical pastors address President with appeal

On 20 August 50 pastors of Belarusian Evangelical churches have addressed President Lukashenka with an open letter, covering several hot issues of human rights violations in the field of religious freedoms. ‘Numerous Evangelical churches, lacking due to various reasons possibilities to construct their own places of worship, have also been deprived of their right to rent such premises. Besides, believers of Evangelical churches have been subjected to humiliating surveillance by the state security bodies, resulting in repeated prosecutions,’ says the letter.

20.08.2009 Yury Lyavonau: “Businessmen, don’t be silent! They won’t let you be!”

Businessman Yury Lyavonau held his first press conference after the release from the Minsk pre-trial detention center.

Yury Lyavonau couldn’t comment on instigating new criminal cases against him and his colleagues at the today’s press conference, because he had signed a non-disclosure agreement. Nevertheless, he called all accusations “absurd” and “ungrounded”.

He connects the change of the measure of restraint with the increased attention of the mass media, embassies of the European Union and the US to the case of entrepreneurs. “No doubts, it has played its role, because the investigation hasn’t become more liberal,” Lyavonau noted.

20.08.2009 Political prisoner Artsyom Dubski remains behind bars

The judicial board of the Mahilou region court dismissed a cassation appeal of “Young Front” activist Artsyom Dubski.

The participant of the Process of 14 appealed against the decision of the Asipovichy district court asking to change a sentence for him, Radio Svaboda reports.

Artsyom Dubski wasn’t present in the courtroom. A film crew of the Belarusian official television worked at the trial.

Lawyer Tamara Sidarenka asked to change the punishment to suspended sentence and grant amnesty to Dubski. Prosecutor Bahamolau called on the judges to uphold the verdict. The court took the side of the prosecutor.

19.08.2009 Civil prosecution of Nasta Palazhanka stopped

According to an official list received by vice-head of the Young Front youth organization Nasta Palazhanka, she has been acquitted of charges, pertaining to the distribution of historic newsletters. The letter signed by lieutenant colonel V.Yakutovich says that the contents of the newsletters do not violate the Belarusian legislation.