The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for February 2018

23.02.2018 Reporters Without Borders: Journalists, bloggers barred from vote count in Belarus

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the explusions of several journalists and bloggers from voting stations in Minsk as votes were being counted after the Belarusian municipal elections on 18 February. RSF regard the evictions, in which violence was used, as deliberate censorship. Observers meanwhile claimed that election fraud took place.

22.02.2018 The price for speaking out: Nabeel Rajab sentenced to 5 years for tweeting in Bahrain

Beirut-Geneva-Paris, February 21, 2018 - Today in Bahrain, prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, BCHR President and FIDH Deputy Secretary General, was sentenced to 5 years in prison under trumped-up charges in relation to tweets denouncing the torture against detainees at Jaw prison and exposing the killing of civilians in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition.

22.02.2018 Amnesty International releases annual report

Over the past year, leaders have pushed hate, fought against rights, ignored crimes against humanity, and blithely let inequality and suffering spin out of control. This provoked mass protests, showing that while our challenges may never be greater, the will to fight back is just as strong. Amnesty International’s report, The State of the World’s Human Rights 2017/18, covers 159 countries and delivers the most comprehensive analysis of the state of human rights in the world today.

21.02.2018 Local elections. Final report

The observation involved 29 long-term observers. The observers were accredited to the number of TECs and DECs, which covered more than 70% of the voters. The results of processing reports on separate stages of the elections were published in the form of corresponding milestone reports.

21.02.2018 EU Urges Belarus To Undertake 'Serious' Electoral Reform

The European Union has called on Belarus to immediately work on a "serious and comprehensive" reform of the election law and processes following local elections in the country.

20.02.2018 Electoral system of Belarus requires urgent reanimation

Elections to the local councils did not meet a number of key international standards for democratic and free elections, coordinators of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” said at a press conference on February 19 in Minsk.

18.02.2018 Report on monitoring the phase of election campaigning

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". The observation campaign involves 29 long-term observers.

16.02.2018 HRDs to present results of monitoring local elections

The campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections" announces a press conference to present the results of monitoring the elections of deputies of local councils of the 28th convocation to be held at 11 am, February 19 at Press Club Belarus in Minsk.

13.02.2018 Investigation into trade unions’ case renewed

The authorities have extended the investigation into the case of the REP trade union, the organization’s leader Henadz Fiadynich said quoting the new investigation team.

12.02.2018 Joint Statement of Belarusian Human Rights Organizations on Blocked Access to Belaruspartisan.org and Charter97.org

Over the past two months, Belarus has resumed the practice of arbitrary restrictions on access to independent Internet media. Thus, the Government has blocked the popular information resources Belarusian Partisan (belaruspartisan.org) and Charter 97 (charter97.org), the media regularly covering the most topical social and political issues.

09.02.2018 Local EU Statement on a Death Sentence in Belarus

The Delegation of the European Union to Belarus issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Belarus.

07.02.2018 Amnesty International launches urgent action after two new death sentences in Belarus

Two men were sentenced to death in Belarus on 20 January after their sentences of life imprisonment were quashed on appeal. They are the first two people to be sentenced to death in 2018, bringing the total number of people on death row in Belarus, according to the Belarusian authorities, to seven.

07.02.2018 Political prisoner Mikhail Zhamchuzhny beaten in prison, his life still at risk

Political prisoner Mikhail Zhamchuzhny, currently held in penal colony No. 9 in Horki, has been reportedly beaten by his cellmate. This news raises serious concerns and fears for the prisoner’s life.

05.02.2018 Miklós Haraszti: International scrutiny of the situation in Belarus has to be continued

The last report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus will stress the need of renewing the country mandate, Miklós Haraszti said during a meeting with Belarusian and international human rights activists, which took place at the Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius on January 31.

01.02.2018 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: January 2018

The Ministry of Information ordered to restrict access to the information resource Charter-97 (www.charter97.org) citing ‘prohibited content’ allegedly posted on the critical website. The fact caused criticism from the country's independent journalistic community and human rights defenders.