Review-chronicle of human rights violations in Belarus in September 2008

On 2 September the presentation of the report Incarceration conditions in the Republic of Belarus, prepared by the International Federation for Human Rights with the aid of the Belarusian human rights activists, took place in Minsk. The report was composed on the basis of an international research mission and is a valuable source of information about the incarceration conditions in Belarus, as there is almost no reliable information on this issue due to the absence of supervision over the penitentiary system in Belarus by any national or international agencies and institutions. During the presentation the FIDH secretary general Louis Peres welcomed the release of the last political prisoners by the Belarusian authorities, but stated that the situation of human rights in Belarus was still disturbing and the incarceration conditions in the country were extremely unsatisfactory and could be considered as forms of inhumane treatment, which is prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.