The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for April 2019

26.04.2019 “Learning to see the homeless as human beings”: HRDs present report on homeless people in Belarus

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Human Constanta and the Partnership for Human Rights Libereco presented a joint report “Homeless People and the Right to Housing in Belarus” and an online resource about the problems of people without a home.

25.04.2019 Opposition cites excessive policing charge to call off first Chernobyl remembrance rally in 30 years

The organizers of Charnobylski Shliakh, an annual demonstration held on April 26 in Minsk to remember the victims of the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Plant explosion, say there will be no rally this year after the city police department charged them 5,700 rubles (or USD 2,700) for policing the event.

22.04.2019 Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders condemns Brest arrests

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment of Mr. Uladzimir Vialichkin, an environmental rights defender and member of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” (HRC “Viasna”), as well as other 17 environmental defenders, in the context of the repression of an environmental protest movement against the construction of a battery plant in Brest.

19.04.2019 Picks of the week

Critical blogger cleared of criminal charges; believers to stand trial for saying prayers outside President's office; HRDs question grounds for prosecution of ex-prisoner of conscience

19.04.2019 President sets parliamentary elections for early November

The parliamentary elections will be held on November 7, Aliaksandr Lukashenka said today when addressing Parliament with an annual speech.

18.04.2019 Critical blogger awarded heavy fine in police defamation trial

Blogger Siarhei Piatrukhin has been found guilty of slander and insult in a trial that was completed today in Brest.

17.04.2019 Michel Forst: “I’m sure I’ll find ways to protect human rights defenders until the end of my life”

On April 16, Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, met with representatives of the Belarusian human rights community as part of his academic visit to Minsk.

15.04.2019 Viasna member detained among protests in Brest

At least 10 people, including human rights activist Uladzimir Vialichkin, were arrested on Friday in Brest for their alleged involvement in a series of rallies protesting the construction of a battery factory, which local environmental groups view as a potential hazard for the city.

12.04.2019 Picks of the week

Human rights defenders not allowed to observe the trial of critical blogger in Brest; Unification Church member threatened with deportation on dubious grounds; independent trade union under pressure in Salihorsk; man in Hrodna facing prison for sharing Rammstein video

11.04.2019 OSCE Representative denounces search of Belsat

VIENNA, 10 April 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, denounced the search conducted on 9 April in the editorial office of the Belsat TV channel in Minsk, Belarus. He called on the authorities to exercise restraint in bringing libel charges against media and journalists, and reiterated his call on the authorities to decriminalize defamation.

10.04.2019 Amnesty International 2018 death penalty report: Belarus still last executioner in Europe

Belarus executed four persons in 2018, as compared to two executions in 2017, Amnesty International said in an annual death penalty report. Aliaksei Mikhalenya and Viktar Liotau were executed in May, and Ihar Hershankou and Siamion Berazhnoy in November.

09.04.2019 Belsat TV office raided by police

Police officers have searched the Minsk-based office of the TV channel Belsat, Belarusian Association of Journalists said.

08.04.2019 Dzmitry Paliyenka facing triple charge

Former political prisoner Dzmitry Paliyenka, who was arrested on March 20 on suspicion of committing a crime under Part 3, Art. 339 of the Criminal Code (especially malicious hooliganism), has been eventually formally charged, according to the activist’s friend Maryna Kasinerava.

05.04.2019 15 detained in Kurapaty confrontation

At least 15 persons were arrested yesterday during a spontaneous protest in the Minsk-based Kurapaty forest, after opposition activists attempted to prevent the demolition of several dozen wooden crosses near the site of Stalin-era mass executions.