Belarusian human rights defenders: "Freedom to Bahrain!
On 4 March Belarusian human rights
defenders expressed their solidarity with President of the Bahrain
Center for Human Rights and Deputy Secretary General of FIDH Nabeel
Rajab who is serving a two-year prison term for actions in support of
the right to peaceful assemblies.
Members of Belarusian NGOs
held several actions in support of Nabeel Rajab. Representatives of
the Human Rights Center "Viasna", Belarusian Helsinki
Committee, Belarusian Language Society named after F. Skaryna and the
Belarusian Human Rights House held a photo action under the slogan
"Freedom to Bahrain!" at the Belarusian Human Rights House
in Vilnius (in the uppermost photo).
In Minsk, "Viasna"
activists photographed themselves in front of the confiscated office
of the Human Rights Center "Viasna". As stated by a member
of the organization Board Uladzimir Labkovich, this place was chosen
as far as the grates on the office windows have already become a
symbol of repressions against Belarusian human rights
defenders.
"This action is similar to those held all over
the world on FIDH initiative in order to support political prisoner
Ales Bialiatski, head of the HRC "Viasna" and FIDH
vice-President. Doubtlessly, it is very important for us to express
our solidarity with a person who is also kept in prison as a
consequence of human rights activities. We think that it is very
important for prisoners in any country to feel the wave of support,
to know they aren't left alone, that people are concerned with their
fates and are ready to do everything possible for their release,"
says Uladzimir Labkovich.
Short before the action,
representatives of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" passed
to the honorary consul of Bahrain, Raphael Musayev, a petition with
the demand of immediate and unconditional release of Nabeel Rajab,
stop the pressurization and persecution of civil society activists
and human rights defenders. "Pitifully enough, the court
persecution of human rights defenders, trade union activists and
other intellectuals, has become an everyday reality in Bahrain.
Meanwhile, those who are detained or summonsed to the police are most
often charged with "participation in unlawful assemblies".
At the end of October 2012 Bahrain put a ban on any kinds of
assemblies and demonstrations. At the end of December the ban was
lifted, but the restrictions of freedom of expression, associations
and assemblies are still in use," emphasizes a joint statement
of FIDH and "Viasna".
In the photo: deputy head of
the HRC "Viasna" Valiantsin Stefanovich puts the petition
in the postbox where the honorary consulate of Bahrain in Belarus is
situated according to www.belarusbahrain.com.
"We
didn't manage to meet with the honorary consul of Bahrain face to
face, as we found out that the consulate was mythic – we didn't
manage to find it on the addresses indicated on the Internet.
However, we found a postbox and left the petition in it. We hope that
in such a way the Bahraini authorities will get informed about the
inadmissibility of systemic and gross violations of human rights,
observed in the country nowadays," said Mr. Labkovich.
In
the photo: Navapolatsk civil activists' action in support of Nabeel
Rajab.
In the photo: activists of the human rights project
"GayBelarus" holding a photo action in support of Nabeel
Rajab.
The call of the Human Rights Center "Viasna"
to support Nabeel Rajab was supported by civil activists from
Navapolatsk and activists of the human rights project GayBelarus.