The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for October 2015

13.10.2015 Baranavičy: observers file complaints on discrepancy in turnout during early voting

The observers Ryhor Hryk and Tamara Strelchyk filed the third appeal to the Baranavičy Inter-district Prosecutor's Office and the Brest Regional Prosecutor's Office and the Central Election Commission regarding the facts of forgery of electoral documents at polling station No. 20.

13.10.2015 Half-day detention for "Long Live Belarus!"

Two young city dwellers spent almost twelve hours at a police station in Žlobin. Last night they painted “Long live Belarus!" on the asphalt in Paliavaja Street.

13.10.2015 Fans get detained at Belarus-Macedonia Match for Scarves with "Pahonia" emblem

The detainees are to stand trial.

13.10.2015 “European Belarus” Activists Called For Military Training

Summons have been received today by Mikalai Kolas and Aliaxandr Rybachenka, who yesterday took part in the protest rally.

13.10.2015 Election process did not meet a number of key international standards for democratic and free elections.

Election observation was carried out by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center "Viasna" within the framework of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections".

12.10.2015 Detained anarchists get released this morning

As learned by the HRC "Viasna", the five activists of the anarchist movement who were detained during the spontaneous protest event in central Minsk yesterday's evening, spent the night at the detention center in Akrestsin Street in Minsk.

12.10.2015 Human rights defenders present results of election monitoring

October 12, the resulting press-conference of the campaign “"Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections"” regarding the presidential elections of October 11 was held in Minsk.

12.10.2015 5 protesters get detained, will be tried tomorrow

At about 8 p.m., five activists of the anarchist movement were detained not far from Niezaliežnasci Square in Minsk.

12.10.2015 Barysaŭ: chairman consults higher commission before announcing results of voting

After the end of the vote counting at polling station No. 57 in Barysaŭ the members of the PEC refused to inform the observers about the results. As reported by an independent observer Pavel Daineka, nobody was let out of the polling station, while the chair of the commission was phoning either to the executive committee or a higher election commission to report about the results of the calculation.

12.10.2015 Salihorsk PEC No. 24 overestimates turnout by four hundred people

Observer of the United Civil Party Viktar Malochka stated about the overestimation of the turnout at polling station No. 24 in Salihorsk by almost 400 electors.

12.10.2015 Hlusk District Election Commission is incredibly quick at counting electors' votes

As stated by the observer of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee at the Hlusk District Election Commission, Ihar Kiryn, he managed to see the commission only at the end of the receipt of documents from PECs as he was busy observing the vote counting at polling station No. 2. Together with him, the receipt of documents from the PEC was monitored by observers of the OSCE.

12.10.2015 Observer registers stuffing of ballots at polling station No. 11 in Slonim

Observer Andrei Sakalouski who was observing the elections at polling station No. 11 in Slonim noticed a sheave of ballots that had been thrown into the box for early voting. There were at least two such sheaves, 20-30 ballots in each.

12.10.2015 Babrujsk: massive overestimation of turnout on election day

The regional coordinator of the campaign “Right to Elect” Taisiya Kabanchuk continues collecting and analysing information from observers. However, she is already able to state a large overestimation of the turnout at virtually all polling stations.

12.10.2015 Homieĺ: is it possible to count 2.5 thousand votes in 20 minutes?

Observer Ales Yauseyenka observed the voting on the election day at polling station No. 25 in the Saviecki district of Homieĺ.

12.10.2015 Chair of Minsk PEC No. 6 to foreign journalist: don't shoot me on video, you violate human rights!

Correspondent of the Polish Internet-edition Eastbook.eu provided human rights activists with a video where it can be seen how members of precinct election commission No. 6 of the Pieršamajski district prevented her from taking video during the calculation of votes. The chair of the commission, Natallia Kunouskaya, threatened the journalist with the police.