The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for December 2013

27.12.2013 Salihorsk: Formation of territorial election commission still a secret

BHC Salihorsk activist Leanid Markhotka managed to attend a meeting for the formation of the district election commission, however, the principle of its formation and the names of the elected members of the commission remained a mystery to the public.

27.12.2013 UCP Mahiliou activist sentenced to 3 days of arrest

On December 26, Anton Kastsou visited the police department of Mahiliou’s Kastrychnitski district to inquire about the laptop seized at his apartment during a search, but he was taken to court, instead.

27.12.2013 Human rights defender not allowed to attend formation of district election commission in Mazyr

On December 26, joint meeting of the district executive committee and the District Council was held in Mazyr to form the district election commission. Ahead of the meeting, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee submitted an application to the executive committee with a request to allow its local representative Uladzimir Tseliapun to attend the meeting.

26.12.2013 Police take BMW over Stop-Tax protest

Minsk resident Dzmitry Pryharau, who appealed for help to the HRC "Viasna", says that on December 20 policemen took his BMW is an absolutely illegal manner – without any explanations and drafting the necessary documents.

26.12.2013 Albert Camus’ Reflections on the Guillotine

“The criminal is killed because he has been killed for centuries, and furthermore he is killed according to a procedure established at the end of the eighteenth century. The same arguments that have served as legal tender for centuries are perpetuated as a matter of routine, contradicted only by those measures which the evolution of public sensibility renders inevitable.”

26.12.2013 Babruisk correctional colony wants former political prisoners to “compensate for expenses”

Zmitser Drozd and Siarhei Kazakou received a suit from Babruisk correctional colony No. 2.

24.12.2013 How prisoners live “on taxpayers’ money”: utility bills from Mahiliou colony No. 15

Minsk resident Liudmila Kuchura, whose husband is serving his sentence in the Mahiliou-based penal colony No. 15, received a certificate of municipal services covered by prisoners, as a reply to her request sent to the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Corrections.

24.12.2013 Slutsk activist fined for film screening

The Slutsk district court issued a fine of 2,600,000 rubles to Zinaida Tsimoshak.

24.12.2013 Opposition activist Makayew jailed for commemorating anti-Bolshevik rebels

A judge of the Maskowski District Court in Minsk on Monday sentenced opposition activist Alyaksandr Makayew to five days in jail, human rights defenders said.

24.12.2013 Minsk courts convict participants of anti-tax rally

The court of Minsk’s Leninski district considered yesterday administrative charges brought against two persons detained during a protest staged on Friday to campaign against the introduction of a new tax on vehicle owners.

24.12.2013 Viasna’s website named Champion of Civil Society 2013

An awarding ceremony of the “Champions of Civil Society 2013” Prize was held on December 23 at the Art-Siadziba cultural center in Minsk. The award was founded by the Pro-Democratic NGOs Assembly.

24.12.2013 Homel Regional Court reconfirms death sentence for Aliaksandr Hrunou

The Homel Regional Court confirmed yesterday its death verdict to Aliaksandr Hrunou previously sentenced to capital punishment for the brutal murder of a student. This was reported by the coordinator of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus” Andrei Paluda.

23.12.2013 Viasna’s Mahiliou office presents new animated film against the death penalty

Over 20 residents of Mahiliou gathered on December 21 to watch the anti-death penalty animated films “Flight”, “Queue” and the new film “Executioner” at the Kola community center. The presentation was conducted by coordinator of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus” Andrei Paluda, who noted that the government still conceals information about death sentences and their execution.

23.12.2013 Expert: Restrictions on prisoners’ appeals to state bodies, public organizations and media are groundless

The issue of filing complaints or expressing dissatisfaction by prisoners is analyzed by lawyer Pavel Sapelka, expert of a monitoring group that studies the conditions of citizens in detention in Belarus.

23.12.2013 Valiantsin Stefanovich complains against Prosecutor General’s Office

Last week, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Deputy Chairman of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", received a reply to his appeal to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Belarus, which concerned the introduction of the website spring96.org in the list of restricted access.