The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for June 2021

18.06.2021 Human rights defenders call to release five more political prisoners

Joint statement by representatives of the Belarusian human rights community

17.06.2021 EU deplores likely execution of Viktar Paulau

Statement by the Spokesperson on a likely execution

17.06.2021 Medical workers witnessing painful human toll of reprisals, paying high personal price

Belarusian health workers who participated in anti-government demonstrations or spoke out against official accounts of protesters’ deaths and injuries, are facing brutal reprisals from the authorities, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing.

16.06.2021 Release political prisoner Mikhail Dobysh

Joint statement by the human rights community of Belarus

16.06.2021 HRDs insist on retrial and release of political prisoner Siarhei Monich

Statement by the human rights community of Belarus

16.06.2021 New "godparents" for Belarusian political prisoners

Members of the German Bundestag and the European Parliament take over godparenthoods for Eduard Kudyniuk, Leanid Sudalenka and Volha Klimkova

16.06.2021 Stop torture and criminal prosecution of prisoner Artsiom Anishchuk!

Statement by the Board of the Human Rights Center "Viasna"

15.06.2021 11 new names on list of political prisoners

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community

15.06.2021 Tsikhanouski, Statkevich, Losik and others to stand in-prison trial behind closed doors

The trial of several key opposition figures and critical vloggers, including Mikalai Statkevich, Siarhei Tsikhanouski and Ihar Losik, is expected start on June 24, according to their families.

14.06.2021 Andrei Kolas and Yauhen Zialkouski are new political prisoners

Joint statement of Belarusian human rights organizations

11.06.2021 Immediately release political prisoner Vasil Lohvinau!

Joint statement by Belarusian human rights organizations

10.06.2021 Death row prisoner Viktar Paulau “most likely executed”, convict’s sister said

Death row inmate Viktar Paulau was “most likely executed,” the convict’s sister Raisa told Andrei Paluda, coordinator of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus”.

10.06.2021 Political prisoner Viachaslau Papou sentenced to three years of “khimiya” over post-election protests, released in the courtroom

The Lieninski District Court of Minsk convicted political prisoner Viachaslau Papou, who was accused of “active participation in group actions that grossly violated public order” (Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code). The charges stemmed from Papou’s involvement in the post-election protests of August and September 2020.

10.06.2021 Four political prisoners sentenced to 5 years each for plotting riots that never happened

The Maskoŭski District Court of Minsk convicted today four political prisoners, who volunteered at Viktar Babaryka’s presidential campaign, Ihar Yarmolau, Dzmitry Kanapelka, Uladzislau Karetski, and Mikalai Saseu, who were accused of “preparing for riots” (Part 1, Article 13 and Part 2, Article 293 of the Criminal Code) and “other training of persons to participate in riots” (Part 3 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code).

09.06.2021 Members of Parliament from the UK, Sweden and Denmark take over godparenthoods of Mikita Yemialiyanau, Pavel Spiryn and Anatol Khinevich

As part of Libereco’s #WeStandBYyou solidarity campaign, Helena Kennedy (House of Lords, Labour Party, UK), David Josefsson (Sveriges Riksdag, Moderaterna, Sweden) and Margrete Auken (European Parliament, Socialistisk Folkeparti, Denmark) are becoming godparents of political prisoners in Belarus.