The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for March 2015

25.03.2015 Convict Piotr Kuchura urges Mahiliou Prosecutor to “have the courage”

Piotr Kuchura urges Mahiliou Prosecutor to react to a failure to launch a timely probe into his poisoning in penal colony No. 15, which made it impossible to punish the perpetrators.

25.03.2015 Mikalai Statkevich does not hope for early release

Political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich, the last of the presidential candidates in the2010 election, which is still held behind bars, does not hope for his early release. In a letter to journalist Barys Vyrvich, the political prisoner, who is serving a sentence in Shklou penal colony No. 17, tells about “another exacerbation”, saying that “the trends are opposite”.

25.03.2015 Pavel Sapelka: “Punishment under article 411 of the Criminal Code is arbitrary deprivation of liberty”

Human rights activists have repeatedly stressed the need to exclude Article 411 from the Criminal Code of Belarus, as it provides for additional prison terms for disobedience to the administration of penal facilities. The issue received wide public attention when the charges began to be used against political prisoners.

25.03.2015 Constitutional Court brushes off death penalty case

The Constitutional Court has responded to a petition by Tamara Sialiun, mother of Pavel Sialiun, who was executed on murder charges in April 2014.

25.03.2015 Vitsebsk authorities ban Freedom Day picket

Members of the CCP BPF applied for holding a picket to the Chyhunachny district administration, but officials have banned the rally. The reason for the ban is traditional: no service contracts from the police and ambulance.

25.03.2015 Human rights defenders urge Minister of Internal Affairs to monitor threats to Leanid Sudalenka

A number of Belarusian human rights defenders have sent an appeal to the Minister of the Interior urging him to take charge of the investigation into a case of repeated threats against human rights activist in Homel Leanid Sudalenka.

24.03.2015 EU flags seized from Brest activist on border

Brest resident Andrei Sharenda was detained on the Belarusian-Polish border last night.

24.03.2015 Yury Rubtsou seeks to recover moral damages from judge Palulekh

An appeal of political prisoner Yury Rubtsou against a refusal of Minsk’s Leninski District Court to hear his suit to recover moral damages from Judge Kiryl Palulekh has been appointed for March 26. The decision was announced on March 6 by Judge Veranika Abramovich. The verdict referred to a lack of jurisdiction.

24.03.2015 Complaint to Prosecutor General is last hope of former candidate

Opposition activist Valery Karankevich, a former candidate for the Mahiliou Regional Council of Deputies, filed on March 21 a complaint to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus.

24.03.2015 Ales Bialiatski: Open letter by political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok reveals the terrible truth

The head of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" commented on his Facebook public page on the appeal published today by political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok.

24.03.2015 Mikalai Dziadok: "I want to be the last convict under Article 411 of the Criminal Code"

The Human Rights Center "Viasna" published an open letter by political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok, who draws attention to the gross violations of the rights of those held in prisons, disadvantages and throw-backs of correctional institutions, as well as unfair punishment under Article 411 of the Criminal Code.

24.03.2015 Amnesty International: Year's first death sentence in Belarus

A 21-year-old man, Siarhei Ivanou, has been sentenced to death in Belarus. He is the first person sentenced to death in the country this year.

23.03.2015 Prosecutor’s Office orders to investigate threats to human rights activist and his children

Today, March 23, human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka was interviewed by a police inspector of the Chyhunachny district police department of Homel Andrei Padsasonny. He learned that the City Prosecutor’s Office had quashed a decision not to open a criminal investigation into the threats to the human rights defenders and his children and demanded that the police took all measures possible to identify the IP-address of those who disseminated the information.

23.03.2015 Biaroza officials ban Freedom Day picket

The organizers of a picket scheduled for March 25, Freedom Day, have received a ban from the executive committee. The answer is signed by the deputy chairman of the executive committee Yauhen Tarasiuk.

23.03.2015 Baranavichy activist learns about conviction 3 months after trial

Aliaksandr Vaitseshyk, lawyer of the independent trade union of radio electronic industry, has received a response from the Niasvizh Prosecutor’s Office saying that he was fined 3 basic units back on January 12. The activist says that he knew nothing about the court ruling.