The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for February 2021

26.02.2021 7 new names on list of political prisoners

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community

26.02.2021 Belarus human rights situation deteriorating further, warns UN rights chief

A “systematic crackdown” against dissent in Belarus is continuing, months since the country’s disputed presidential election last year, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet has told the Human Rights Council.

26.02.2021 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Oral Statement by Right Livelihood Award Foundation

Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Belarus

26.02.2021 Political prisoner Yauhen Dzmitryeu sentenced to two years in prison

A 26-year-old political prisoner Yauhen Dzmitryeu was sentenced today by the Centraĺny District Court of Minsk to two years in a penal colony on charges of “violating public order” (Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code). The charge stems from the events of October 4, when a water cannon was broken during a protest in Minsk.

25.02.2021 We demand the immediate release of political prisoners Maryia Safonava and Andrei Sysun

Joint statement by Belarusian human rights organizations

25.02.2021 Political prisoner Aliaksandr Kisialiou convicted in Žlobin

Judge Yauhen Yerafeyeu of the Žlobin District Court has sentenced political prisoner Aliaksandr Kisialiou to three years in prison, finding him guilty of “violating public order” (Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code) and “threat of violence or violence against a law enforcement officer” (Art. 364 of the Criminal Code).

25.02.2021 Dead protester convicted of attempted murder

Henadz Shutau, a protester killed in Brest on August 11, has been found guilty of attempting to murder a law enforcement officer, according to a ruling by the Brest Regional Court. His friend, Aliaksandr Kardziukou, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the same charge.

25.02.2021 Political prisoner Maryna Hlazava sentenced to 18 months of ‘home imprisonment’

The Lieninski District Court of Brest has handed down the first verdicts in the criminal case of the “dancing protest” held on September 13. The case was opened under Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code and involved dozens of people.

23.02.2021 Political prisoner Uladzislau Zianevich sentenced to 3 years of restricted freedom

Judge Maryna Zapasnik of the Lieninski District Court of Minsk sentenced political prisoner Uladzislau Zianevich to three years of restricted freedom in an open penitentiary (so-called “khimiya”), finding him guilty under Article 342 of the Criminal Code. The convict was released in the courtroom pending an appeal hearing.

22.02.2021 Viasna targeted in fake email attack

Last Friday, February 19, eighty-five electronic mailboxes belonging to EU MPs and ambassadors to Belarus received a letter allegedly authored by the Human Rights Center “Viasna”.

22.02.2021 Belarus: Cultural scene in peril as crackdown escalates

Belarus’ vibrant cultural scene is being suffocated amid the brutal crackdown on dissent, with authorities arbitrarily detaining and torturing artists, musicians, writers and actors, and forcing others out of their jobs, Amnesty International said today.

19.02.2021 More protesters convicted in political trials

Courts in Minsk sentenced today political prisoners Ivan Krasouski, Volha Paulava and Liavon Khalatran to terms of restricted freedom (so-called “khimiya”), finding them guilty of “breaching public order” during the unprecedented wave of protests triggered by the fraudulent presidential election of August 2020.

19.02.2021 Viasna calls to release its activist Dzmitry Salauyou and end repression of human rights defenders

Statement by the Board of the Human Rights Center “Viasna”

19.02.2021 OHCHR report to UN Human Rights Council reveals serious violations of human rights in Belarus

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted a report to the forty-sixth session of the UN Human Rights Council covering the situation of human rights in Belarus. The report examines the events during the electoral campaign and the situation that unfolded around and following the presidential election of 9 August 2020.

19.02.2021 Political prisoner Mikhail Zhamchuzhny walks free after 6 ½ years in prison

Mikhail Zhamchuzhny, a 65-year-old political prisoner and human rights activist, was released this morning from penal colony No. 9 in the city of Horki, Mahilioŭ region, RFE/RL’s Belarus service said.