The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for 1 Mar 2011

01.03.2011 Will Ryhor Vasilevich accept Ales Bialiatski’s proposal?

Ales Bialiatski, Chair of the Human Rights Center Viasna, vice-president of the International Federation of Human Rights Ryhor Vasilevich to cancel the warning issued to him by the General Procuracy on 16 February. Human rights activist reminds to the Prosecutor General about the elimination of the official registration of Viasna, which, in his opinion, was connected with the active monitoring of the presidential elections in 2001. This step of the authorities had been declared unlawful by the UN: the Human Rights Committee of this influential organization stated that it was a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by the Belarusian authorities.

01.03.2011 Analytical review of the trial on the criminal case of Artyom Breus and Ivan Gaponov. Day 2.

1 March 2011 the trial of the citizens of the Russian Federation Artyom Breus and Ivan Gaponov started at the Maskouski District Court of Minsk.

01.03.2011 Analytical review of the trial on the criminal case of Artyom Breus and Ivan Gaponov. Day 2

1 March 2011 the trial of the citizens of the Russian Federation Artyom Breus and Ivan Gaponov started at the Maskouski District Court of Minsk.

01.03.2011 Navapolatsk authorities have banned three pickets lately

The picket applied for by the Independent trade union of workers of the open joint stock company Naftan was banned because of… quarantine.

01.03.2011 Natallia Radzina warned

Policemen came to the apartment where the journalist lives under a non-leave obligation since she was released from the KGB detention center and said she should go with them. She managed to inform her colleagues, after which the call was interrupted.

01.03.2011 Mahiliou: Maksim Antsypovich fined 525,000 rubles for participation in unauthorized picket

On 1 March Iryna Saroka, judge of the Mahiliou Leninski District Court, considered the administrative case of Maksim Antsypovich, charged with participation in an unauthorized picket on 16 January, and fined him 525,000 rubles (about $175).

01.03.2011 Frunzenski District Court of Minsk: Atroshchankau, Malchanau, Novik

Three participants of the protest action of 19 December in Minsk are being tried at the Frunzenski District Court today. All of them are charged with ‘participation in mass riot’ (Article 293 of the Criminal Case, part 2). One of them, Aliaksandr Malchanau, is also charged under Article 370 (outrage of the state symbols).

01.03.2011 Maskouski District Court: Breus and Gaponov

10.10 a.m. – the trial over the Russian citizens Artyom Breus and Ivan Gaponov starts. The prosecutor reads the list of victims, about 15 persons. According to the prosecutor, Brest and Gaponov allegedly kicked the policemen.

01.03.2011 Maskouski District Court of Minsk: Dzmitry Miadzvedz

The judge announced a break in the trial till 10 March so that the accused and his defense could familiarize with the new charges, in which more than 10 policemen injured during the protest action are mentioned. It is also alleged that other participants of the demonstration were armed with metallic bars and bottles. Human rights defenders believe that, seeing the case falling apart during the previous trials, the procuracy is trying to strengthen its positions with ‘armed resistance’ and ‘police victims’.