21.01.2010 Parents of Belarusian-speaking schoolboy struggle for their son’s language rights

Two Zhodzina civil activists Aliaksei and Sviatlana Lapitskis continue to struggle for their son’s Belarusian-language education at the local school, after he was for the second time within 4 years ordered to be educated in Russian due to ‘budget deficiency’. They lodged a complaint with the local authorities claiming they failed to guarantee Belarusian-language education of their son Yanka, RFE/RL reports.

21.01.2010 Mass arrests of activists of Union of Poles in Belarus

The people coming to support Tereza Sobal, the head of the Polish House in Ivyanets, and not to allow the authorities to take away the building are being detained and arrested.

The website charter97.org learnt from Andrzej Poczobut, a famous journalist, activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus, unrecognized by the authorities. According to him, more than 100 activists of the Union of Poles are going to visit Ivyanets (the Minsk region) today. Road traffic police began to stop their cars, check IDs and search vehicles.

21.01.2010 Gazeta Wyborcza’s journalist Andrzej Poczobut receives threats

Andrzej Poczobut, a famous journalist, activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus, unrecognized by the Belarusian authorities, received a telephone call from an unknown man on January20.

As Radio Racyja reports, the man threatened Andrzej Poczobut and his family if he didn’t stop his public activity and leave the Polish House in Ivyanets.

21.01.2010 New Life Church to pay Br260-million fine

The Natural Resources and Environment Committee obliged the persecuted church to pay the fine within two months.

Syarhei Lukanin, a New Life’s lawyer, told Radio Svaboda the Minsk Natural Resources and Environment Committee offered him to sign a protocol, under which the church must pay a Br260-million fine.