The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for April 2016

30.04.2016 Report on monitoring the Critical Mass cycling event on 29 April 2016

A traditional cycling event ‘Critical mass’, taking place on last Friday of every month, was held on 29 April 2016.

30.04.2016 Police detain participants of cycling event in Minsk

At least six people were reportedly detained last evening over their involvement in the Critical Mass cycling event in Minsk.

29.04.2016 Valiantsin Stefanovich: Most OSCE recommendations ignored by CEC

On April 27, Lidziya Yarmoshyna, head of the Central Election Commission, met with President Lukashenka to agree on the date of this year’s parliamentary elections. As a result, the vote was set for September 11. Furthermore, Lidziya Yarmoshyna told about the proposals the CEC had reportedly introduced in the electoral process, as demanded by the OSCE recommendations.

28.04.2016 Danish MFA’s delegation meets Viasna leader Ales Bialiatski

The Minsk office of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" hosted today a meeting of the NGO’s leader Ales Bialiatski with a delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark headed by Mr. Uffe A. Balslev, head of the Department for European Neighborhood.

27.04.2016 Opposition activists, environmentalists stage anti-nuclear protest in Minsk

Opposition activists protested the on-going construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus during the annual “Charnobylski Shlyakh” (Path of Chernobyl) demonstration staged Tuesday in Minsk on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

27.04.2016 Belarusian Activist Fined Over Anti-Russia Protest

A court in Minsk has fined a Belarusian activist for participating in an anti-Russia rally.

27.04.2016 Animal rights activists face fresh charges

Several activists of the Ekalahičny Pošuh and the Cost of Living initiatives have been charged with illegal picketing for staging a protest in defense of animals near the State Circus building in Minsk. On April 25, six of them were summoned to the police department of Minsk’s Partyzanski district. The date of a court hearing has not yet been set.

26.04.2016 Homieĺ human rights defender complains to UN

Human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka has sent a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee in a case against Ašmiany customs officers who confiscated his laptop during a search at the Lithuanian border on 24 May 2015. The activist has exhausted all domestic remedies, including the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General.

26.04.2016 Viasna. The Beginning

On 26 April 1996, several Belarusian activists founded a human rights initiative called "Viasna-96", which later became what we know today as the Human Rights Center "Viasna". On this day, the activists started searching for the protesters detained during the Čarnobyĺski šliach demonstration.

21.04.2016 Brest Court Recognized Zianon Pazniak's Books As Extremist Literature

Censors did not like the books The Good Photographs and The Defence Of Kurapaty. Peoples’ Memorial.

20.04.2016 End of ‘liberalization’? Opposition leader Viachaslau Siuchyk detained and beaten

On April 19, police officers detained Viachaslau Siuchyk, leader of the Razam opposition movement, as he was returning home at about 3 a.m. According to his mother, police officers were waiting for him at the entrance, and then started beating him. They tore his jacket and sweater and handcuffed the activist.

18.04.2016 Journalist in Homieĺ convicted over story she didn’t shoot

On April 15, the Court of Homieĺ’s Centraĺny district heard the administrative charges brought against local journalists Kanstantsin Zhukouski and Larysa Shchyrakova. They were accused of violating Article 22.9 of the Administrative Code, illegal manufacture of media products.

18.04.2016 RSF: Harassment of two journalists is test for international community

Reporters Without Borders condemns the way judicial authorities in the southeastern city of Homyel are hounding freelance journalists Kastus Zhukouski and Larysa Shchyrakova and urges the European Union to condition its rapprochement with Belarus on specific progress in respect for media freedom.

15.04.2016 Activist charged over animal rights protest

Civil society activist Pavel Siarhei has received a letter saying that he is charged with staging an illegal picket at the Kamaroŭski market in Minsk (an offense under Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code).

14.04.2016 Human rights activists warn authorities against building concentration camps

Activists of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” say they are outraged over the President's recent order to tighten the conditions for convicts serving prison terms on drug-related charges.