The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for November 2013

22.11.2013 Homel activist challenges refusal to institute proceedings against road police

Homel civil society activist Uladzimir Katsora addressed today Rechytsa District Court with a complaint against the district department of the Investigative Committee. The activist appeals against a refusal to institute criminal proceedings.

22.11.2013 Investigation Committee check journalists’ detention incident

The check up has been caused by the events of October 19, 2013.

22.11.2013 Sweden: 103 years without the death penalty

On November 23, Sweden marks 103 years since the last execution of a death sentence took place. The last execution in Sweden was enforced on November 23, 1910, when Johan Alfred Ander was beheaded by guillotine, after being sentenced to death for the murder of a 24-year-old cashier during a robbery in a shop in Stockholm.

22.11.2013 Zmitser Vaitsiushkevich’s concert banned in Polatsk

Polatsk authorities banned a concert of Zmitser Vaitsiushkevich. The concert was to be held in local Center of Crafts and National Cultures and was initially agreed with the head of the ideology department of the executive committee However, on the eve of the concert the executive committee received a call from the regional authorities and the concert was banned.

22.11.2013 Bykhau authorities urged to select places for public events

Chairman of BPF’s Bykhau office, writer Siarhei Antonau filed yesterday a written request to the local executive committee Chairman Dzmitry Kaleyeu. The appeal asks the official to determine places for pickets in the town.

22.11.2013 Administrative commission punishes activist of “swine revolt”

The administrative commission of Biaroza district executive committee, which on November 20 re-examined the case of Aliaksandr Alikhver, punished him with a fine of 1.3 million rubles for keeping pigs within a 5-km zone of 2 small government pig farms hit by the recent epidemic.

22.11.2013 Baranavichy trade union activist to pay insurance fee in lawsuit by Interior Ministry

The court of the district and the city of Baranavichy heard yesterday the case of local trade union activist Aliaksandr Vaitseshyk and ruled, as a result, to recover insurance payments in favor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the amount of 175 thousand rubles. The case was considered by Judge Vera Utlik. The lawsuit against the activist was filed by the Baranavichy interdistrict Prosecutor’s Office. The claim stemmed from a previous conviction of the activist over allegedly beating a police officer.

21.11.2013 A. Bastunets: ‘There are more cons than pros in the on-line media registration’

Dzmitry Shadko, Deputy Minister of Information announced elaboration of amendments to the Belarus’ Mass Media Law with the purpose of ‘effective response to negative social phenomena’ that may lead to obligatory registration of on-line publications as media outlets on November 19, 2013.

21.11.2013 Criminal case opened against activist from Rahachou

Activist Dzianis Dashkevich's home was searched.

21.11.2013 Activist complains about detention conditions

Leanid Smouzh, complains about the conditions of detention at the Center for isolation of offenders in Minsk’s Akrestsin Street, where he was held after a demonstration staged on November 10.

20.11.2013 Mikalay Authukhovich was not allowed to meet with his mother

Mikalay Autukhovich’s meeting with relatives was scheduled for November.

20.11.2013 Father Lazar’s family is not able to pay for a lawyer

Belarusian Christian Democracy is organizing a marathon of solidarity with the priest Uladzislaw Lazar.

20.11.2013 Maksim Viniarski: “If we, not the police, gave false testimony in court, let them punish us”

Opposition activists Maksim Viniarski and Leanid Kulakou, who spoke as witnesses at the November 4 administrative trial of a Homel resident Yury Rubtsou, sent a petition to the court, asking to either punish policemen for perjury or the activists themselves.

20.11.2013 Biaroza court sides with executive committee in ban on picket against the death penalty

On November 19, Biaroza District Court considered a complaint filed by human rights defenders Tamara Shchapiotkina and Siarhei Rusetsk, as well as civil society activist Tatsiana Tarasevich, to challenge a ban imposed by the district executive committee on a picket against the death penalty scheduled for October 10.

19.11.2013 Sweden’s Östgruppen launches project to campaign for freedom of assembly in Belarus

The Swedish human rights organization «Östgruppen» launched a web project entitled “To Dare - To Think – To Say” (“Våga, tycka, tala”). This is an interactive map, which shows the situation of freedom of assembly in Belarus, as well as the methods by which that right is violated, www.svaboda.org reports.