The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for June 2013

28.06.2013 Mother of political prisoner Ihar Alinevich loses job

Mrs. Valiantsina Alinevich, the mother of political prisoner Ihar Alinevich, has worked at the Belarusian State Economic University for over 30 years. The administration said that she was a high-level expert, but security forces insisted that her employment contract should be terminated.

28.06.2013 Prosecutor wants 2 years in prison for Andrei Haidukou

At yesterday’s court session, the State Prosecutor requested that Andrei Haidukou, defendant in the spy trial, be jailed for two years, as reported by Prosecutor General of Belarus Aliaksandr Kaniuk.

28.06.2013 South American activists campaign against death penalty in Belarus

An office of the human rights organization Amnesty International in Paraguay launched a regional campaign against the secrecy that accompanies the death penalty in Belarus, while calling on the Belarusian President Lukashenka to amend Article 175 of the Criminal Executive Code.

28.06.2013 Jacek Protasiewicz: The European Union hopes for the release of political prisoners

Vice-President of the European Parliament, Jacek Protasiewicz expressed confidence that now it is a time for the Belarusian officials to take steps necessary for the improvement of relations between the EU and Minsk. Above all, Belarusian authorities should free political prisoners. Minsk does not have time to spare to do that. The politician told to Palitviazni.info about the EU expectations.

28.06.2013 Ales Bialiatski nominated for Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

Over 30 non-governmental organizations in Poland nominated Ales Bialiatski for the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. The initiative was launched by the Polish Stefan Batory Foundation.

28.06.2013 Political prisoner Alinevich tears letters that offer to ask for pardon

Ihar Alinevich's parents had a long-term meeting with their son in the Navapolatsk penal colony No.10.

28.06.2013 Small business activist Shumchanka jailed

Small business activist Anatol Shumchanka was sentenced to five days in jail on Thursday, the day when market vendors across Belarus staged a walkout in protest against the Customs Union's new certification rules for clothing and footwear.

27.06.2013 Three arrested journalists released, Shumchanka remaining in custody

The three journalists who were arrested by police in Minsk on Thursday have been released, while Anatol Shumchanka, leader of a small business association called Perspektyva, remains in custody.

27.06.2013 Witness in Haidukou case faces dismissal

Illia Bahdanau has been warned that June 27 will be the last of his working day, the Nasha Niva newspaper reports.

27.06.2013 Journalists detained in entrepreneurs’ strike in Minsk

Minsk police detained several journalists during a strike staged by entrepreneurs to protest against new regulations of the Customs Union.

27.06.2013 Verdict in Haidukou trial expected on 1 July

The case is being heard behind closed doors, therefore it is yet unknown whether the charges have been changed and what prison term the prosecutor demanded for Andrei Haidukou.

27.06.2013 Belarus will be again mentioned in a special paragraph of the ILO documents as a country fraudulently violating workers’ and trade union rights

Today, on June 13 the Labor Standards Committee of the International Labor Organization (ILO) has taken a decision that Belarus is to be mentioned in a special paragraph of the Report of the ILO Standards Committee – the so called “ILO blacklist”. This information has been reported by BKDP leader Alexander Yaroshuk attending the 102-nd Session of the International Labor Conference cuirrently taking place in Geneva from 5 till 20 of June.

27.06.2013 Belarusian sole traders on strike protesting against Customs Union

Belarusian sole traders have a national strike today. A decision to hold the strike was taken by the Forum of Sole Traders devoted to the entry into force of the technical regulations of the Customs Union “On safety of light industry”. The event took place in Minsk on June 24.

26.06.2013 Slonim: BCD member summoned to Prosecutor’s Office over Freedom Day rally

Slonim police and prosecuting authorities are still seeking to interrogate activists of local pro-democratic forces who celebrated Freedom Day on March 25. The head of the Slonim office of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Ivan Bedka received a summons signed by Slonim District Prosecutor, Senior Counsellor of Justice Anatol Yaulash, urging him to appear at the Prosecutor’s Office on June 24 “in connection with the fact of the unauthorized mass event dedicated to the anniversary of the Belarus People’s Republic.”

26.06.2013 Rahachou activist questioned by police over publication on independent website

Dzianis Dashkevich, pro-democratic activist from the town of Rahachou, had to provide explanations to local policemen over a publication on the independent website vrogacheve.ru.