The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for June 2020

19.06.2020 Belarusian human rights defenders call to immediately release Viktar Babaryka and members of his nomination group

Joint statement by Belarusian human rights organizations

19.06.2020 EU urges Belarus to immediately release Viktar Babaryka

Statement on recent developments in Belarus by the Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European External Action Service

19.06.2020 Changes in Belarus are truly needed, MEPs say

A group of members of the European Parliament issued a statement on the situation in Belarus, calling on the current government to “listen to the voice of society, which demands change.”

18.06.2020 Presidential nominee Viktar Babaryka, campaign chief detained in new criminal case

Presidential nominee Viktar Babaryka and his son and campaign chief Eduard were detained this morning by the Department of Financial Investigations of the State Control Committee. The two men were reportedly detained after they arrived at the Central Election Commission building to submit part of the signatures collected to support Babaryka’s presidential nomination.

18.06.2020 Violence, threats, detentions. Human rights activists complain to UN special rapporteurs

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center "Viasna" have written to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and a number of UN thematic rapporteurs asking them to take all appropriate measures to assist in improving the current human rights situation in Belarus and also in securing fair and democratic elections.

17.06.2020 Siarhei Tsikhanouski facing new charge of “obstructing elections”

Popular YouTuber and election campaigner Siarhei Tsikhanouski is facing a new charge of “interfering with elections” (Art. 191 of the Criminal Code), according to a reliable source. The charge carries a range of possible penalties, including imprisonment.

15.06.2020 Andrei Novikau called eighth political prisoner in Tsikhanouski case

Representatives of the country’s leading human rights organizations, including Viasna, have named Andrei Novikau, volunteer of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s nomination team, another political prisoner after on June 12 he faced official charges of “disturbing public order” during an election picket on May 29 in Hrodna.

12.06.2020 Picks of the week

Investigators name another suspect in Siarhei Tsikhanouski's case; Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya suspends signature collection amid unprecedented repression; Viasna activist in Svietlahorsk facing new penalty

12.06.2020 Stop pressure and intimidation of people involved in presidential election!

Urgent statement of the human rights community of Belarus

10.06.2020 HRDs insist on immediate release of all activists charged under Article 342 of the Criminal Code

Statement by the human rights community of Belarus on the criminal charges against Siarhei Tsikhanouski and six other participants in the May 29 picket in Hrodna

09.06.2020 Siarhei Tsikhanouski and supporters face formal charges

Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a known vlogger and campaign chief of his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s nomination group, has been officially charged under Part 1, Art. 342 of the Criminal Code (organizing group actions that grossly violate public order and are associated with obvious disobedience to the lawful demands of the authorities or have caused disruption of the activities of public transport, enterprises, institutions or organizations, or active participation in such actions in the absence of signs of a more serious crime).

09.06.2020 2020 Presidential Election. Weekly observation report: June 1-7

Representatives of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” note the continuing trend of increasing repression during the election period, including against the direct participants in the election, and the escalation of tensions and an atmosphere of fear in society.

05.06.2020 Belarus must stop crackdown to silence opposing views – UN experts

A group of UN experts today expressed serious concern about an intensified crackdown on civil society in Belarus, saying the country’s government must protect the right to freedom of expression and stop silencing critical voices.

05.06.2020 Picks of the week

Candidate's nomination campaign at risk after arrest of 9 activists; CEC ignores Lukashenka's sexist remarks; police detain would-be candidate

04.06.2020 EU, U.S. envoys urge Belarus to invite OSCE/ODIHR election observers

Joint Statement on the Presidential Elections in Belarus by the Missions of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union on behalf of the EU Member States represented in Minsk