The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for December 2017

29.12.2017 EU statement on two upheld death sentences in Belarus

Statement by the Spokesperson on two upheld death sentences in Belarus

24.12.2017 Report on the results of monitoring the registration of nomination groups

According to the CEC, 17,542 nomination groups were registered, which is 99.9% of the total number of nominations. In the previous elections to the local councils of 2014, the registration percentage was 99.7%.

20.12.2017 Supreme Court confirms death verdicts for 2 men

The Criminal Division of the Supreme Court of Belarus has upheld the death sentences earlier handed down to Ihar Hershankou and Siamion Berazhnoi, two of the four people involved in the so-called ‘black realtors’ case’.

19.12.2017 Practice of holding peaceful assemblies in Belarus cannot be a good example, Viasna and BHC say

The experts of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee have prepared an overview of the situation with freedom of assembly in Belarus in 2016-2017. The analytical document is part of a regional project run by the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL). Earlier, the initiative presented the results of monitoring of freedom of peaceful assembly in the five Balkan countries. Now a similar review of Belarus is available online.

13.12.2017 Restricting civil society participation in OSCE a tremendous setback for Helsinki process, says CSP

“Restricting civil society participation in the work of the OSCE would be a tremendous setback for the Helsinki process and a betrayal of the spirit and founding values of this unique peace advancement initiative,” says an appeal by the Civic Solidarity Platform, a network of more than 90 human rights NGOs from throughout the OSCE region.

12.12.2017 Ex-defendant in ‘White Legion case’ charged with weapon possession

Andrei Bialiauski, who earlier faced charges in so-called ‘White Legion case’, has been formally accused of storing a cartridge (Part 2 of Art. 295 of the Criminal Code — Illegal manufacturing, purchase, transfer, possession, sale, storage, transportation, or carrying of firearms, ammunition, explosives, etc.). Bialiauski told this on December 12, shortly after another interrogation at the Investigative Committee.

12.12.2017 Opposition leader Mikalai Statkevich briefly detained at border checkpoint

Belarusian border officers have detained Mikalai Statkevich, leader of the opposition National Congress, as he was leaving the country together with his wife Maryna Adamovich this morning.

11.12.2017 UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination publishes findings on Belarus

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has published its findings on the countries it examined during its latest session from 20 November to 8 December. These include Belarus, which last reported to the Committee in 2013.

08.12.2017 Monitoring report on the formation of district election commissions

Observation is carried out by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center "Viasna" in the framework of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections".

07.12.2017 UN HRC urges Belarus not to expel Iranian facing death in home country

The UN Human Rights Committee has called on the Belarusian government not to expel Mehrdad Jamshidian, an Iranian national residing in Belarus, who is facing torture and the death penalty in his home country, human rights activist Raman Kisliak told BelaPAN.

04.12.2017 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: November 2017

In November, the government continued to use repressive practices against political opponents and civil society activists; there were no significant systemic changes in the field of human rights.

04.12.2017 UN experts set uncomfortable questions in Belarus anti-discrimination report

The lack of anti-discrimination legislation, the absence of an ombudsman, the problem with the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession, the presence of the President's decree on social dependency, lack of cooperation between the government and the civil society — these and other concerns, which characterize the overall situation of human rights in the country, were raised before the official delegation of Belarus during the consideration of the country’s report in the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.