11.09.2018 First-hand Information From Inside Belarus: Invitation to a Side-event on 12 September, Warsaw
On 12 September 2018, FIDH shall take part in a side-event that it organises together with Belarusian civil society organisations in the framework of the annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM). Speakers will raise issues of the latest attacks on independent media and independent trade unions, developments around the application of death penalty and legislation placing lawyers under the control of the executive.
07.09.2018 Picks of the week
Statistics of administrative persecution in August; REP leaders appeal verdict; journalist in Braslaŭ convicted for eighth time since 2011
06.09.2018 Viasna alerts UN Special Rapporteurs over persecution for solidarity with REP leaders
The Human Rights Center "Viasna" has written to Mr. David Kaye, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Mr. Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, United Nations Special Rapporteur on rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, to highlight the sentencing of 11 opposition activists, who staged a protest outside the House of Justice in Minsk on August 24 to demonstrate solidarity with the convicted leaders of the independent trade union REP Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik.
04.09.2018 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: August 2018
The month was marked by a significant deterioration of the human rights situation in Belarus.
03.09.2018 Amnesty International condemns low point for freedom of expression in Belarus
The right to freedom of expression in Belarus has been dealt a series of severe blows in recent weeks, as the authorities’ crusade against journalists and independent media outlets continues. The latest moves by the Belarusian authorities demonstrate their resolve to eliminate all critical voices in the country and deprive people in Belarus of the opportunity to freely access, share and disseminate information and ideas.
31.08.2018 Picks of the week
Courts convict activists over support for REP leaders; new suspect named in BelTA case; blogger in Brest live streams own arrest; political prisoner Mikhail Zhamchuzhny faces new penalties in prison
29.08.2018 Front Line Defenders urges Belarus to quash convictions against Fiadynich and Komlik
The authorities in Belarus should immediately quash the convictions against Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik, leaders of the trade union REP, and fully restore their liberty, Front Line Defenders said in an urgent appeal, as it believes that they are solely in relation to their peaceful and legitimate work in the defense of human rights.
24.08.2018 Statement by Belarusian human rights organizations on sentence in REP trial
On August 24, 2018, Henadz Fiadynich, chairperson of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union of Radio Electronic Industry Workers (REP), and Ihar Komlik, the Union’s accountant, were found guilty of committing a crime under Part 2, Art. 243 of the Criminal Code (large-scale tax evasion).
17.08.2018 Picks of the week
Sentence in trade union case expected on August 24; Prosecutor in Akciabrski caught red-handed with ready-made court ruling; court turns down first appeal against detention of critical journalists last week
15.08.2018 Political bias in REP trial ill-disguised, say IndustriALL observers
The politically motivated charges against Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik, leaders of the trade union REP, are “solely aimed at paralyzing the union activities,” say observers of the IndustriALL Global Trade Union after attending the trial that opened on July 30.
13.08.2018 Belarus cracks down on journalists and publishers as oppressive new media laws bite, UN expert warns
GENEVA (10 August 2018) – A wave of raids and arbitrary arrests targeting independent publishers and journalists in Belarus highlights oppressive new rules against internet media in the country, says the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus, Miklós Haraszti.
11.08.2018 Picks of the week
The sweeping and clearly disproportionate crackdown on independent journalists that started on August 7 and briefly paralyzed the work of the country’s leading news portal, tut.by, and the only private news agency, BelaPAN, has been making both national and international headlines during the week.
09.08.2018 BelaPAN chief editor detained, more journalists remain in custody
Iryna Leushyna, chief editor of the BelaPAN news agency, has been detained today, tut.by said. Her apartment has been searched and computer equipment seized.
08.08.2018 Four journalists still in detention, as searches of media continue
Maryna Zolatava, Hanna Kaltyhina and Halina Ulasik, editors of tut.by, the country’s leading online newspaper, as well as belapan.by journalist Tatsiana Karaviankova, remain in custody on charges of illegal access to the government-owned news agency BelTA. The whereabouts of one more tut.by editor, Hanna Yermachonak, is still unknown.
08.08.2018 Statement on searches of media outlets and arrests of journalists
On August 7, the Investigative Committee of Belarus said that it opened a criminal case under Part 2, Art. 349 of the Criminal Code (“illegal access to computer information obtained out of other personal interest, which caused significant damage”). Reports also said that the law-enforcement agencies detained journalists Maryna Zolatava, Hanna Kaltyhina, Halina Ulasik, Ulyiana Babayed (tut.by) and Tatsiana Karaviankova (BelaPAN). According to our information, several more journalists were also detained.
