Ales Bialiatski’s chair left vacant at 2011 Report on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders presentation in Yerevan

On the 14th of December the Chairman of the Board of “Civil Society Institute” NGO and FIDH Secretary General Artak Kirakosyan together with CSI NGO president Arman Danielyan presented the 2011 Report on the Protection of the Human Rights Defenders around the world. In Armenia, as in other countries, during the presentation of the report the seat of the speaker Ales Bialiatski was left vacant as a call for setting him free.

The report prepared by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, which is the joint project of International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and International Organization Against Torture (OMCT), presents actions directed against the human rights defenders which took place in 70 countries from January 2010 to April 2011.

According to Mr. Kirakosyan, among the European countries the worst situation is in Belarus, where the pressure against the defenders is huge. Recently the president of “Viasna” Center and the vice-president of FIDH Ales Bialiatski was sentenced for 4.5 years.