Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in May 2012
May
did not bring any positive changes
in the human rights situation in general and the situation of
political prisoners in particular. On 24 May, while listening to a
report by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Siarhei Martynau,
Aliaksandr Lukashenka explicitly stated he had no intention to change
his position on political prisoners: "Lately, I have been
hearing more and more statements that European diplomats here are
waiting for some kind of amnesty, starting talks about political
prisoners, and so on. I just want to publicly say that I will not
return to this subject (...) We are waiting for concrete steps from
the West, the European Union. The ball is on their side. It is my
firm conviction. That’s why I am not going to wait for this play on
old instruments by old notes again."
This statement by
Aliaksandr Lukashenka witnesses that he was waiting for some
concessions from the European Union in response to the release of
Andrei Sannikau and Zmitser Bandarenka this April and was
disappointed that the European Union insistently demands the release
of all political prisoners for resumption of political dialogue and
cooperation.
The situation was aggravated by the delivery of
another politically motivated criminal verdict: on 29 May civil
activist Vasil Parfiankou was sentenced to six months of arrest on
charges of violating the terms of preventive supervision. Earlier he
had been sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment within the framework of
the “mass riot case”, instigated in connection with the events of
19 December 2010 and was granted parole by a presidential decree.
Vasil Parfiankou continued civil activities after his release from
jail. The preventive supervision was established over him after he
had been detained at an action of solidarity with political
prisoners. The verdict against V.
Parfiankou has not yet entered into force
and will be appealed. Human rights activists state that in case of
imprisonment he will be declared a political prisoner.
Civil
activists were detained and given administrative punishments
throughout the month. There were many cases when people were given
punishments on the basis of fabricated charges of “disorderly
conduct”. Police and courts actively participated in this unlawful
persecution. Human rights defenders believe that the people who have
been repeatedly and unlawfully deprived of liberty for a long time
can be considered as political prisoners.
In May there was
published a report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the
situation in Belarus, which had been presented orally at the 18th
session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva in September last year.
As far as the recommendations remain largely unfulfilled by the
Belarusian government, UNHCR repeats them, emphasizing additional
requirements. The part of the report which concerns freedom of
associations and human rights defenders in Belarus includes
information about facts of repressions against the Belarusian
Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and
the defamation campaigns against the political opposition, human
rights activists and journalists.
Political
prisoners, politically motivated prosecutions
13
political prisoners – Ihar Alinevich, Mikalai Autukhovich, Ales
Bialiatski, Dzmitry Dashkevich, Mikalai Dziadok, Aliaksandr
Frantskevich, Siarhei Kavalenka, Eduard Lobau, Pavel Seviarynets,
Mikalai Statkevich, Artsiom Prakapenka, Pavel Syramalotau and Yauhen
Vaskovich, were still kept in jail. What concerns the last three –
human rights defenders demand that their cases be reviewed by an
independent court. On 21 April Aliaksandr Lukashenka announced his
intention to declare an amnesty on 3 July, and many people perceived
it as a sign that this legal mechanism could be used for the release
of political prisoners. However, experts were skeptical about the
effectiveness of using such tools because a
part of the political prisoners were
declared persistent violators due to the received disciplinary
penalties, and Ales Bialiatski will have an unpaid fine when an
appropriate verdict of the Pershamaiski District Court of Minsk
enters into legal force.
On
29 May there appeared a potential political prisoner – civil
activist Vasil Parfiankou,
who was sentenced to 6 months of arrest by Pershamaiski District
Court of Minsk under Article
421 of the Criminal Code (violation of the terms of preventive
supervision established by the court). In
February 2011 Vasil Parfiankou was
sentenced to four years imprisonment under Part 2 of Article
293 of the Criminal Code ("participation in mass riot")
for participating in the post-election
protests on 19 December 2010. In August 2010 he was released on
parole by a presidential decree. He was repeatedly detained for
participation in street actions. As a result, preventive supervision
was established over him.
Another
reason for concern was that preventive supervision had been
established over two more youth activists, who had also been
convicted for participation in the post-election protests and granted
parole by a presidential decree – Pavel Vinahradau and Uladzimir
Yaromenak, which could result in criminal
liability for violation of the conditions of release on parole.
As
it became known on 2 May, Vitsebsk activist of the
Conservative-Christian Party “Belarusian Popular Front” Siarhei
Kavalenka was transferred from the guarded department of the national
scientific-practical center of psychical health in Navinki (where he
underwent a complex psychiatric examination on court decision) to the
remand prison of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Valadarski
Street in Minsk. On 4 May the MIA Department
of Corrections informed Kavalenka’s
mother that he had been found mentally
healthy. On 8 May the convict resumed for
the third time the hunger-strike he had been keeping since his arrest
of 19 December 2011. On 18 April Vitsebsk
Region Court dismissed the appeal of S. Kavalenka and left the
verdict in force, and on 20 May he was transferred to Mahiliou colony
#19 for serving his prison term (he was sentenced to 25 months of
imprisonment).
On 22 the court marshals attached the property
at the summer residence of the imprisoned head
of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" Ales Bialiatski in the
execution of the sentence concerning the
confiscation of property. Earlier, in
March, the court did this in his apartment in Minsk, and on 30 March
– in another apartment, where the office of the Human Rights Center
“Viasna” is situated.
At the beginning of the month it was
found that the correspondence of A. Bialiatski was restricted – he
didn’t receive two letters from human rights defender Anastasia
Loika. As there were no prohibited items in
the letters, A.
Loika filed
complaints to the
Department of Corrections Ministry of the
Mahiliou Region,
Mahiliou Region Procuracy and Mahiliou civil commission for
supervision over the incarceration
conditions at the main justice
department of Mahiliou Region Executive
Committee.
Limitation
of correspondence was used towards Yauhen
Vaskovich, and Pavel
Syramalotau didn’t receive the subscribed newspapers through April
in Mahiliou colony
#19. The
prisoner’s mother learned this during a short-term meeting with
him. She didn’t manage to find out the reason why he was deprived
of the right to receive the newspapers.
At
the end of May Mikalai Dziadok was put in single confinement in
Shklou colony #7 for six months on decision of the head of the
colony. Prior to that,
he was repeatedly forced to write a petition for clemency. Mikalai
was also deprived of the long-term visits with
his mother and wife, which had previously been allowed in June.
During his stay in Babruisk
and Shklou colonies he received more than
10 disciplinary penalties
for fabricated reasons, such as “incorrect reaction to a remark”.
Death
penalty
On
7 May the mother and sister of Uladzislau Kavaliou, one
of the convicted and executed for the terrorist
act in the Minsk subway, addressed
Aliaksandr Lukashenka with the proposal to adopt a decree allowing to
issue the bodies of the executed to their families, and inform the
families about the places of burial of those who had been executed
earlier. They propose to abolish point 5 of Article 175 of the
Criminal-Executive Code, because "there
is no reasonable justification for the non-issuance of the executed
bodies to relatives or hide the place of
burial from them”.
The relatives of Uladzislau Kavaliou proposed to amend the
legislations because they believe that
existing regulations are extremely cruel and inhumane in relation to
the relatives of the executed.
On 8
May, during the address of A. Lukashenka
to the Parliament and the people, MP
Samaseika asked him about the death penalty
and the possibility of a moratorium on it. Aliaksandr
Lukashenka
said: "I will never agree to a
moratorium. I know the people’s
moods.
You can turn your TV off. Two villains break
into an apartment,
rape a daughter,
kill her and throw
into the bathroom. What to do with them? I instantly reject a
petition for clemency. Do you know what the last two death sentences,
when the whole world presses on you, cost
me? I am
the president and I
have to do as the society wants.
If you are a scoundrel and a skunk, and you commit an offense, be
prepared to answer for it.
However, may be the society has come to a
moratorium."
Torture and
cruel treatment
On
10 May Salihorsk civil
activists addressed
the House of Representatives with the
proposal to introduce the notion of "torture"
and liability for this crime in the
criminal legislation of Belarus. The deputies were also required to
start working out a law against torture. Bear in mind that the
Belarusian legislation does not give a definition of "torture"
athwart requirements of the UN
Convention against Torture, ratified
by the Republic of Belarus. None of the legal
acts of the Republic
of Belarus contain such
definition. In Belarus, there are such
crimes as abuse of power
and some others which can provide an indirect punishment for actions
that can be regarded as torture or ill-treatment, but there
is no direct punishment for torture. In their
address to the House of Representatives
activists drew attention to the recommendations of the UN
Committee against Torture
to Belarus, made during the 47th
session last autumn.
In particular, the Committee recommended immediately entering
into the Criminal Code provisions giving the definition of torture,
and classifying it
as a criminal offense, in full accordance with Articles 1 and 4 of
the UN Convention against Torture.
On
19 May “European Belarus” activist Andrei Mouchan was detained
and severely beaten near “Pershamaiski"
supermarket in Rusiyanau Street. He
unfurled a white-red-white flag on the street, after which a police
car arrived. The policemen severely beat him and pulled him into the
car. As a result, he was taken to hospital #11, from which he was
signed out on 25 May. According to the preliminary medical
conclusion, he was diagnosed with a cranial trauma, fracture of a jaw
and ribs, bruises of kidneys and legs. From the hospital he was
directed to medical treatment in the polyclinic. In the final
conclusion, given to him at the departure, he was diagnosed only with
a light cranial trauma, whereas the fracture of the jaw and other
trauma are put to doubt in it.
Politically
motivated restrictions on freedom of movement
On
4 May the deputy head of the Human Rights
Center "Viasna"
Valiantsin
Stefanovich applied to
the Investigation Committee of the Republic of Belarus with
the request to bring a criminal case
concerning the intentional
criminal acts (possibly including forgery),
aimed at the unlawful restriction of his
constitutional right to travel abroad by
introducing his surname in the database of the citizens
of the Republic of Belarus, who were
temporarily prohibited
to leave Belarus. Valiantsin
Stefanovich told the Investigative
Committee about the futility of his appeals to
various government agencies where he sought an answer to the question
on whose decision he was prohibited to
travel outside of Belarus. In
the notice, issued to Mr. Stefanovich by the citizenship and
migration bureau of Partyzanski District Police Department of Minsk,
it is stated that he was put on this list by the Ministry of Defense
of the Republic of Belarus for evading from measures connected to
draft into the army and military service in the reserve. According to
officers of Partyzanski District Police Department of Minsk, his
surname was put in the database by some Charednik A.V. On receiving
this notice the human rights defender required explanations from
Partyzanski district military enlistment office in Minsk. The
military commissioner and his deputies answered that they hadn’t
sent any information about V. Stefanovich anywhere. At
the same time,
Stefanovich noted
that the grounds for the temporary restriction of his right to leave
Belarus, specified in the notice,
were absurd and
obviously illegal. First, he is
12 years older than the maximum recruitment age specified by the law,
and secondly, he passed military service in 1990-92. Considering
journalists and members of NGOs and
opposition political parties were also prohibited to travel abroad
for similar reasons, the human rights defender expressed the opinion
that these limitations are not an accidental
and indicate a planned illegal politically motivated action of the
Belarusian secret services.
Though
the legal term for considering Valiantsin Stefanovich’s lawsuit
against the unlawful foreign travel restrictions, expired back on 26
April, the date of hearings was still not appointed by the end of
May. The office of Tsentralny District Court of Minsk stated that the
date of the trial was not appointed and they didn’t know when it
would be appointed.
This very court failed to timely consider
analogical lawsuits of some other persons who were subject to foreign
travel restrictions: the head of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee
Aleh Hulak and the head of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka.
All these cases were to have been considered by Judge Alena Siamak.
Administrative
persecution of
social and political activists, arbitrary detentions
On
1 May the police
detained three activists from Brest, Stas
Fiadzko, Illia Labushniak and Uladzimir Katrych, on a highway near
Kobryn. The activists were going to Minsk in order to take part in
the assembly on amendment of the electoral legislation, held by
Dzmitry Uss. The alleged reason for the detention was that there were
some problems with the documents for the car. The discrimination
lasted for three hours, as a result of which the activists didn’t
manage to get to the event.
On
1 May officers of
the Baranavichy Transport Police Department
detained at the central railway station a
group of civil activists who were going to Minsk in order to take
part in the assembly of the initiative group of Dzmitry Uss. Among
the detainees there were Artsiom Babei, Viachaslau Bolbat, Aliaksandr
Davydau and Ryhor Hryk. They were detained by eight policemen and
eight people in civvies, who stated that according to their
information the detainees were carrying explosives or suspicious
items. That’s why all of them were guarded to the police station at
the railway station for a search. The reports of examination and
search were drawn up. Haven’t found anything suspicious, the police
released the detainees after 2.5 hours.
On
6 May 13 people were detained at a picnic near the village of
Zhdanovichy (Minsk district). Among the detainees there were folk
singers Zmitser Bartosik and Ihar Simbirou who was released that day
after serving a ten-day arrest (on 26 April he had come from
Asipovichy to the “Chernobyl Way” rally in Minsk, but had been
detained and sentenced to 10 days of arrest).
All detainees
were guarded to the police station of Zhdanovichy, where they were
subject to forced dactylography and videoing. All of them were
released at about 9 p.m., except for Ihar Simbirou, who was charged
with using obscene language in public and detained till trial (he
spent the night at Minsk District Police Department). On 7 May Minsk
District Court started considering his case, but postponed the
hearings to 18 May.
At about 1 p.m. on 8 May unknown people
detained Ihar Simbirou again near Chaliuskintsy Park in Minsk and
pulled him into a black “Mercedes” car. After this Ihar Simbirou
was taken to Minsk District Court, where Judge Aliaksei Minich
suddenly continued the trial and sentenced him to 15 days of
arrest.
On 7 May Alena Minsnik, judge of Smaliavichy District
Court, sentenced the leaders of the civil campaign “Tell the Truth”
Andrei Dzmitryieu and Mikhail Pashkevich to ten days of arrest. They
were found guilty under Article 23.34 of the Code of Administrative
Offenses, “violation of the order of organizing and holding mass
events” for taking part in an “unauthorized assembly” of owners
of country residences in connection with the construction of a
Chinese industrial park. The protest assembly took part back in March
2012, but the police paid interest to its organizers only after it
received a wide public response.
Only on 10 May it became
known that on 24 April Ihar Shalai had been detained near the
building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for posting stickers “No
to death penalty”. Two policemen guarded him to Savetski District
Police Department of Minsk. A report under Article 17.1 of the CAO
(“disorderly conduct”) was drawn up against him. On 25 March he
was sentenced to ten days of arrest by Savetski District Court of
Minsk.
On 14 May the trial over activist of the “Young
Front” Mikhail Muski started at Maskouski District Court of Minsk.
The activist was to have been released after the 15-day arrest to
which he had been sentenced for participation in the “Chernobyl
Way” rally in Minsk. However, he was left in the detention facility
in Akrestsin Street. He was charged with disorderly conduct and
sentenced to 5 more days of arrest by the judge Viktar Kazak. On 16
May he was taken away from the detention facility to the military
unit in the village of Mezhytsa (Vitsebsk region). He managed to
phone his friends on the way to the military unit.
On 14 May
an apartment rented by “Young Front” activists was assaulted by
the police. Mikalai Dzemidzenka, Zmitser Kremianetski and Raman
Vasilyeu were detained with an excessive use of physical violence and
taken away in unknown direction. The policemen took away the keys
from the apartment. All present people were order to lie down on the
floor. At first, Uladzimir Yaromenak was ordered to stand facing the
wall with his legs spread far apart, but then a policeman knocked him
down.
On 15 May the “Young Front” activists were found at
Tsentralny District Court of Minsk. They were charged with disorderly
conduct. Nobody was admitted to the trial, even their lawyers.
Mikalai Dzemidzenka was sentenced to 10 days of arrest by Judge
Vaitsekhovich, Zmitser Kremianetski – to 10 days of arrest, and
Raman Vasilyeu – to 12 days of arrest by Judge Alena Tkachova.
On 16 May Leninski District Court
of Minsk considered the administrative case of
Ivan Amelchanka, author
of the poster "Musorok",
detained the day before at Leninski District Police Department of
Minsk, where he came on his own, as the police were constantly
disturbing his parents and relatives trying to summon him as a
witness in the “mass riot” case (concerning the post-election
protests of 19 December 2010). A report under Article 17.1,
“disorderly conduct”, was drawn up on Ivan Amelchanka. Judge
Mikhail Khoma sentenced Ivan to 15 days of arrest.
On 17 May
the administrative cases of “Young Front” activists Pavel Siarhei
and Uladzimir Yaromenak (detained in an apartment the day before)
were considered at Frunzenski District Court of Minsk. U. Yaromenak
was sentenced to 7 days of arrest by Judge Liudmila Lapo and P.
Siarhei – to 5 days of arrest by Judge Natallia Karobina.
On
18 May the wife of political prisoner Siarhei Kavalenka, his cousin
and an activist of the “European Belarus” Alena Semenchukova were
detained before the beginning of the consideration of Siarhei’s
appeal at Vitsebsk Region Court. The police charged them with writing
“Freedom to Siarhei Kavalenka!” on the asphalt in front of the
court. On 30 May the detainees were to have been tried at
Kastrychnitski District Court of Minsk, but Judge Ina Hrabouskaya
returned the case to the police for revising. According to the court
information, the charges will be changed from disorderly conduct to
an insignificant damage of property. A. Kavalenka hoped that the case
would be dropped at all altogether.
On
24 May activist of the “Young Front” U. Yaromenak was guarded to
Maskouski District Court of Minsk from the detention facility in
Akrestsin Street, from which he was to have been released the
previous night. He was charged with disorderly conduct (Article 17.1
of CAO). Judge Tatsiana Motyl sentenced him to ten more days of
arrest.
On 25 May Maskouski District Court of Minsk
considered the administrative case of Zmitser Kremianetski who was
charged with using obscene language in public (disorderly conduct,
Article 17.1 of CAO). Judge Tatsiana Motyl sentenced him to 10 days
of arrest. It’s worth noting that Zmitser had been released from
the detention facility in Akrestsin Street the day before, on 24 May.
On 27 May the police detained a group of youth who met with a
doctor of technical sciences, expert on
nuclear energy Heorhi Lepin at the
“Tractor” stadium. 21 people were taken to Maskouski District
Police Department of Minsk. Police officers used physical violence
towards some of them, threatened to draw administrative reports and
imprison the detainees. However, all of them were released after
forced dactylography.
On 26 May “Young Front” activist
Raman Vasilyeu was to have been released after serving a 12-day
arrest for hanging out a national
white-red-white flag
on an anniversary of
the referendum as
a result of which a modified version of the Soviet-era flag and coat
of arms became the state symbols of Belarus. Instead of release from
jail R. Vasilyeu received new charges under Article 17.1 of CAO. On
28 May Judge Tatsiana Motyl sentenced him to 12 more days of
arrest.
On 30
May "European Belarus" activist
Maksim Viniarski
was detained for putting up posters
addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who came
to Minsk with an official visit that day. M. Viniarski was guarded to
Maskouski District Court of Minsk and sentenced to 5 days of arrest.
On 30 May ational-Bolsheviks Yauhen Kontush and Zmitser
Siniak, were punished with 5-day arrests and Zmitser Paliyenka –
with 10 days of arrest.
On 30 May Ivan Amelchanka who was to
have been freed after serving a 15-day arrest, received new charges
under Article 17.1 of the CAO. The trial took place behind the closed
doors at Maskouski District Court of Minsk. Judge Tatsiana Motyl
sentenced I. Amelchanka to ten days of administrative arrest.
In
the evening of 31 May Svetlahorsk police detained the activists of
the civil campaign “Tell the Truth”, journalists and local
dwellers during a protest action against the
construction of a bleached
pulp plant near the village of Yakimava
Slabada. All detainees were released, except
for Mikhail
Pashkevich, who was left
at Svetlahorsk District Police Department.
He was charged under Article 23.4 of the
CAO ("intervention in the actions of the
police"). On 1 June Iryna Aliseika,
judge of Svetlahorsk District Court, sentenced
M. Pashkevich to
7 days of arrest.
At about 6 p.m. on
31 May the head of the Belarusian Institute
for Strategic Studies (Vilnius), Professor
of European University in
St. Petersburg Aliaksei Pikulik stopped
responding to calls to his mobile phone. Several hours
few hours later it became known that he was
at Tsentralny District Court of Minsk. He was charged with disorderly
conduct (Article
17.1 of the CAI) and on 1 June Judge of the Tsentralny District Court
of Minsk Yakunchykhin sentenced him to 5 days of
arrest.
Restrictions
on freedom of speech and the right to impart information, persecution
of journalists
At
about 8.30 p.m. on 2 May police
came to the Minsk office of Radio “Racyja” while examining the
apartments near Peramoha Square, where a rehearsal of the 9 May
military parade was to take place. Journalist Henadz Barbarych, who
was on duty at the time, opened the door. Having seen Radio “Racyja”
logos, the policemen called for backup from
Tsentralny District Police Department.
Eventually, they took away the office computers for examination. The
police wrote a "report of survey" which indicated that the
techniques were taken away for examination.
On
29 May Homel Region Procuracy issued an
official warning to
independent journalist Larysa
Schyrakova
for cooperation with the satellite TV channel "BelSat".
Larysa was summoned to the procuracy and
shown two statements
from the villagers of Yakimava Slabada
(Svetlahorsk district). The “outraged” villages allegedly
demanded that L. Shchyrakova be prosecuted. In the statements it was
written that she had allegedly cheated participants of the assembly
of villagers, as she introduced herself as a worker of the state TV,
but her report was shown on the “opposition” TV channel –
“BelSat”. L. Shyrakova denied these accusations and wanted to
appeal the warning which was issued to her by the procuracy.
On
31 May Salihorsk police detained journalists, local dwellers and
members of the civil initiative “Tell the Truth” at a protest
against the construction of a bleached pulp plant. Among the
detainees there were journalists Aliaksandr Barazenka, Siarhei Balai,
Alina Radachynskaya and Ina Studzinskaya and activists of “Tell the
Truth” Hanna Kurlovich, Mikhail Pashkevich, Aliaksandr Ulitsionak
and Siarhei Vazniak. The journalists were freed after giving
explanations.
Restrictions
on freedom of assembly
On
4 May the head of the Homel regional organization of the United Civil
Party Vasil Paliakou applied to the UN Committee
on Human Rights. The politician believes that the Belarusian
authorities, who sentenced him to five days
of arrest for the organization of a
national assembly
violated Article 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights – namely, the right to freedom of information and
of peaceful assembly. On the eve of the national
assembly, on
9 October 2011, the court found him guilty of
violating Article 23.34 of the CAO
(violation of the order of organizing and
holding mass events), and punished him
with arrest. V.Paliakou
disagreed with the decision of the district court and appealed
against it in the higher courts – the regional
and the Supreme Court,
but his lawsuits weren’t granted.
On
11 May it became known that Rahachou District Executive Committee
banned pickets and an assembly in the district Palace of Culture
within the framework of the campaign “Let’s return “Dazhynki”
to Rahachou!”. The reason for the ban was that that it was
prohibited to hold any mass events in the Palace of Culture. Another
(already traditional) reason was that the applicants failed to
conclude agreements with the police, communal utilities and
ambulance.
In May, pickets “For Fair Elections without
Lukashenka!” were banned all over Belarus. 24 activists from Homel
and 7 more – from cities of Homel region applied for the
authorization of such pickets. By these actions they wanted to draw
public attention to the problem of the absence of free and fair
elections in Belarus. The pickets were to have been held on 15 May.
Applicants from Babruisk and Mahiliou weren’t allowed to hold such
pickets either. Four pickets were banned in Barysau. Activists of the
United Civil Party intended to hold 5 pickets on 15 May, but all of
them were banned – including the pickets which were to be hold in
the places which had been officially determined for such actions by
the authorities. Orsha City Executive Committee didn’t authorize
the 14 pickets UCP activists intended to hold on 31 May. The reason
for the ban was as usual – the absence of agreements with medics,
communal utilities and police.
Salihorsk authorities banned a
cycling tour timed to the anniversary of the
referendum of 14 May
1995, which resulted in a white-red-white flag and coat of arms
"Pahonia"
to have lost the status of state symbols. The
application was filed by “Young Front” member Andrei Tychyna. The
event was scheduled for 26 May.
On 22 May pickets in support
of the school with the Polish language of instruction were banned in
Hrodna. Representatives of the Polish national minority wanted to
hold four pickets to demand preservation of the language regime at
school #36. The authorities explained their ban with the absence of
service agreements with the police, communal utilities ad medics.
On 29 May a
picket of a young post-graduate Aliaksei Paulouski was banned in
Minsk. Mr. Paulouski intended to picket the Institute of Physiology
of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus on 30
May in order to draw the public attention to the failure of the
institute administration to provide post-graduates from other cities
with places in the dormitory. Minsk City Executive Committee stated
that the action could not be authorized as repair works would be held
in Akademichnaya Street at the specified time.
Freedom
of association
On 23 May a worker
of housing and operational service #12 applied to the editorial board
of the “Brestskiy Kuryer” newspaper and reported that the
administration of the service distributed among workers applications
for joining the “state NGO” “Belaya Rus”. Each worker
received two applications, which were already filled – it was
necessary just to enter one’s name, surname and home address and
sign them. One of the applications was to the head of Brest Maskouski
district branch of “Belaya Rus” Maryia Haldun: “Please, let me
join the national civil association “Belaya Rus”. I have been
acquainted with the Charter and agree with it.” As it follows from
the sample application, it was prepared specially for women. The
other application is addressed to the head of Brest housing and
operational bureau Pavel Zahrai: “I ask you to exact the membership
fees of 0.3% from my salary on a monthly basis for the further
transfer of the NGO" Belaya Rus".
As it became known
on 24 May, the appeal of the founders of the civil association “For
Fair Elections” was registered at the UN Human Rights Committee. In
2011 the Belarusian Ministry of Justice refused to register the
association with the state. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of
the ministry, thus depriving the association of an opportunity to
acquire a legal status. As a result, Siarhei Kaliakin and other
founders applied to the Human Rights Committee, appealing the
violation of their right to association by the Republic of Belarus.
In their appeal it was also stated that activities on behalf of
unregistered organizations were criminally prosecuted in Belarus.