The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for 7 Dec 2010

07.12.2010 Central Election Commission: car rally for Lukashenka was unlawful, but no one is guilty

The Human rights defender Valiantsin Stefanovich received a response to his complaint, in which he asked the Central Election Commission to bring to justice members of the rally We Are for Father! (i.e. for Lukashenka). As previously reported, the rally started in St Petersburg and was organized by the Russian public associations Slavic Brothers and Autoradioclub.

07.12.2010 Homel: human rights defender tries to return confiscated manuals for observers through court

On 30 November officers of the Ashmiany customs office examined the personal belongings of the Homel human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka who was returning home from Vilnius. They confiscated from him 10 copies of Instructions for Short-term Observers at Presidential Election of Belarus.

07.12.2010 Vitsebsk authorities ban human rights picket

The human rights defenders Pavel Levinau and Leanid Svetsik received an answer from the Kastrychnitski District Executive Committee of Vitsebsk concerning their request to authorize their picket on Human Rights Day, 10 December.

07.12.2010 Buda-Kashaliova: democratic activists are threatened with beating

Recently the democratic activists of Homel have established the youth coalition Studyja that launched the project of the electronic complaint book Don’t Keep Silence! Any person who witnesses a violation of the electoral legislation can tell about it at the website studyja.org.

07.12.2010 Homel: city authorities ban picket against early voting

At the end of November the Homel human rights defenders Anatol Paplauny and Leanid Sudalenka applied for holding a picket on 10 December, the Human Rights Day.

07.12.2010 Minsk: lecturers are ‘advised’ to politely herd students to early voting

The preparation to the forced early voting is at its height in the Minsk universities. For instance, the lecturers of some faculties of Belarusian State University were told to ‘politely ask’ their students to come to lectures with passports (that are necessary for early voting).

07.12.2010 Minsk: election commission shuns its member from BPF Party

The member of the Belarusian Popular Front Party Iryna Smiayan-Semianiuk who was included in precinct election commission #104 of the Maskouski district of Minsk is not informed about the time of the commission’s sitting ’.

07.12.2010 Activists of Speak Truth! and European Belarus call to stop one-man show!

At 10 a.m. on 7 December activists of the civil campaigns European Belarus and Speak Truth! held a rally in the center of Minsk demanding to give TV air to opposition candidates.

07.12.2010 Ivanava: Sannikau’s electoral picket visited by armed policemen

Pickets to spread agitation materials in support of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikau were held in Ivanava and Drahichyn.

07.12.2010 Beating of activist of Niakliayeu’s campaign

A stranger attacked a volunteer near a picket of the presidential candidate Uladzimir Niakliayeu.

07.12.2010 Salihorsk: state-owned press prepares the public opinion for falsifications

The Salihorsk district mass media actively voice the figures of the candidates’ ratings and voters’ turnout.

07.12.2010 European Humanities University issues a public statement in support of Mikalai Dziadok

The Students’ Self-government of the European Humanities University (EHU) is appealing to the international community with a request of support and solidarity with the EHU student Mikalai Dziadok (Nikolai Dedok).