The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for 24 Oct 2013

24.10.2013 Krychau court dismisses case against Volny Horad newspaper

Krychau district court dismissed today another lawsuit filed against the journalists of the independent newspaper Volny Horad ("Free Town"), after employees of the Cherykau-based state-owned enterprise PMK-280 gave up their claims to the weekly.

24.10.2013 Amnesty International on death sentence annulment: A step in the right direction

The President of the Republic of Belarus must introduce an immediate moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the use of the death penalty. Amnesty International reiterated its call while welcoming the fact that earlier this week the country’s Supreme Court overturned a death sentence.

24.10.2013 Lohvinau Sues Information Ministry

On October 23, the publishing house “Lohvinau” filed a lawsuit to the Supreme Economic Court demanding to nullify the Ministry’s order to withdraw license from the publishing house.

24.10.2013 Good Cop or Bad Cop?

On October 23 the chairperson of BAJ Zhanna Litvina and her deputy Andrei Bastunets had a talk with the head of the police department of the Minsk City Executive Committee Aliaksandr Barsukou. The topic of the meeting was the detention of journalists on October 19 at the railway station in Minsk.

24.10.2013 Raid on blogger's home in Babruisk

Police officers raided the flat of blogger Aleh Zhalnou.

24.10.2013 Mylène Farmer signs petition against the death penalty in Belarus

On October 24, three days before her arrival in Minsk, where Mylène Farmer is expected to present to the public her new show “Timeless”, she signed a petition of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus."

24.10.2013 More preventive detentions and trials ahead of CIS summit

Activist of the EuroBelarus movement from Dziarzhynsk, Aliaksandr Tarnahurski, was summoned for interrogation at 10 this morning. The police also detained an activist of the National Bolshevik movement Dzmitry Paliyenka. Later it became known that he was charged with disorderly conduct. As a result, the activist stood trial and was sentenced to six days of arrest.

24.10.2013 MFA avoids direct answer to human rights defender’s petition in case of death convict Pavel Sialiun

Coordinator of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus" Andrei Paluda received a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus to his letter, in which the human rights activist informed the MFA of the registration in the UN Human Rights Committee of an individual complaint by Pavel Sialiun, sentenced to death earlier this year.

24.10.2013 National Bolsehvik leader sentenced to short prison term

Yauhen Kontush, leader of the Belarusian National Bolsheviks movement, was detained by the police when leaving his house at around 9 last morning. The reason for the detention is still unknown. Another activist of the movement, Dzmitry Paliyenka was detained last evening and taken to the police station. It was also known that the police "hunted" Aliaksandr Paliakou, but he managed to escape arrest.