News on the topic: Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations
12.07.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in June 2010
On 8 June, representatives of the Human Rights Center Viasna and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee held a press-conference dedicated to the analysis of the situation during the first six months of 2010. They stated the absence of positive changes concerning the respect of human rights along with the deterioration of the general situation due to the approach of the presidential election. What concerns the latest amendments to the Electoral Code, the human rights activists alleged that they had little influence on the last election, which didn't have significant differences from the previous ones.
07.06.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in May 2010
In May, the legal proceedings on four politically motivated criminal cases came to an end, two new death verdicts were issued and several peaceful actions were dispersed, including actions of activists of sexual minorities. As a result of a clash with the police, a youth activist Zmitser Parmon got to hospital with a broken clavicle. Although several civil activists were sentenced to arrests, the administrative persecution in May was mainly confined to fines.
09.05.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in April 2010
The local council elections were the main event in April. According to information of Lidziya Yarmoshyna, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, 21,293 deputies were elected to the local councils on 25 April. Among them there are nine representatives of democratic opposition, including 3 members of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party, 5 members of the Belarusian Party of Leftists Fair World and 1 member of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada.
16.04.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in March 2010
The situation of human rights in Belarus in March showed the extent to which the Belarusian authorities were ready to follow the way of democratic reforms. Execution of two death convicts was one of the most important events that month. Human rights defenders are of the opinion that it was consciously done to thwart the requirements of the national legislation and the international undertakings that were ratified by the country. On 23 March, the Human Rights Center Viasna, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Amnesty International, the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE adopted an official statement to condemn the actions of the authorities. The international community is indignant that the executions were performed against the background of negotiations between Belarus and the Council of Europe about introduction of a death penalty moratorium.
16.03.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in February 2010
In February, the conflict between the two Unions of Poles in Belarus, the union that is recognized by the Belarusian authorities and the union that is recognized by the Polish authorities, reached international scale. On 17 February the Valozhyn district court obliged Tereza Sobal, Chairperson of the Ivianets Polish House, to pass the building to the administration of the pro-governmental Union of Poles. Mass detentions of civil activists were conducted during the court hearings on the confiscation of the Polish House. The UPB leaders were punished by courts on charges in organizing an unauthorized action of solidarity in Hrodna on 10 February. An urgent counsel of the Polish MFA was summoned in connection with these events. It was decided that the officials involved in repressions against the Belarusian Poles would be banned to enter the territory of Poland.
05.03.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in January 2010
In January, the elections to the local Soviets of Deputies started in Belarus. According to Presidential decree #21 of 18 January 2010, the elections to the local Soviets were appointed on 26 April. It will be the first campaign carried under the amended Election Code. As soon as the decree was published, the Belarusian human rights defenders have started monitoring the electoral process all over Belarus within the frames of the campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections. One of their aims is to analyze the practical implementation of the new provisions of the election legislation. According to these innovations, the subjects who nominate their representatives to election commissions received the right to appeal against their non-inclusion in the commissions by the appropriate state agencies. A number of public and political activists appealed against their non-inclusion in the commissions at court.
06.01.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in December 2009
At the end of the year its results were summed up. On 22 December the leadership of the United Democratic Forces of Belarus held a press-conference at which it was stated that this year the situation for the opposition was no better than last year. The country again has political prisoners, the Ministry of Justice again denies state registration to political parties and NGOs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies accreditation to foreign media and their correspondents. Besides, democratic activists are kidnapped by unidentified persons and are arrested for participation in unauthorized peaceful street actions.
09.12.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in November 2009
In Belarus November started with the population's panic caused by the epidemic of an acute virus disease that often brought such complication as pneumonia. On 4 November Liliya Ananich, the first Deputy Minister of Information, stated the ministry 'will stop any attempts to misinform the population of the country'. The same day Valiantsina Kachan, Deputy Minister of Health, voiced the data from which it followed that 19 people had died of pneumonia during the two last weeks. All of them were tested for swine flu and in seven cases the tests were positive. This was all official information. Meanwhile, for 2-29 November 170 819 cases of swine flu and acute respiratory viral infection were registered in Homel oblast alone. 44.2% of the ill were children and 55.8% – adults. 3.3% (5 825 persons) were hospitalized. As of 30 November quarantine was declared in ten educational establishments of the Homel oblast.
10.11.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in October 2009
10 October is the World Day against the Death Penalty. The abolition of the death penalty or introduction of a moratorium on it is one of the priorities in the dialogue between the EU and Belarus. However, the Belarusian authorities show little progress in this issue. That's why in January 2009 the Belarusian human rights defenders launched the campaign Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty. They inform the population, collect signatures and distribute printed materials facing obstacles from the side of the state. In particular, the campaign activists from many regions of Belarus intended to hold pickets dated to the World Day against the Death Penalty. However, most of the actions weren't sanctioned by the local authorities. Besides, on 10 October in Navapolatsk, police detained human rights defender Zmitser Salauyou and the young activists Alina Kucharenia and Yury Palonski during an informational action.
15.10.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in September 2009
September closed the additional six-month test period the Belarusian authorities were given for starting democratic transformations in the country. Meanwhile, no significant steps were made for improving the situation of human rights in Belarus. The fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of association, freedom of expression and freedom of consciousness remained restricted. On 24 September, at a briefing for representatives of international missions and journalists, the Assembly of pro-Democratic NGOs gave a preliminary evaluation to the activities of the Belarusian authorities on normalization of the situation of NGOs for the previous six months. Siarhei Matskevich, Chairperson of the Working group of the Assembly of NGOs, stated the absence of progress on the three points set for by the European Union: the abolition of Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code, the abolition of the death penalty, the resolution of the problem of non-registration of civil organizations and introduction of a reduced-price office rent tariff for them.
08.09.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in July-August 2009
A year passed since the celebration of the official Independence Day on 3 July 2008, at which more than 50 people had been injured after the explosion of a home-made bomb. A criminal case under the article 'malignant hooliganism' was brought on this fact. Aleh Piakarski, Chairperson of the organized crime department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, stated to Interfax that, 120 persons were considered as suspects in the explosion case since 3 July 2008 till 3 July 2009, but none of them proved to be guilty.
09.07.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in June 2009
June was marked by trials of the politically motivated criminal cases against participants of the 'Process of 14' and human rights defender Leanid Svetsik. The under-aged Maksim Dashuk was punished with 15 months of personal restraint without direction to open penitentiary institution. Despite the adoption of the law on amnesty, only one participant of the 'Process of 14', Mikhail Pashkevich, was amnestied. Personal restraint was replaced with twice larger terms of corrective labor for two other participants of the 'Process of 14', Ales Charnyshou and Ales Straltsou.
08.06.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in May 2009
In May several mass actions took place, all of them under vigilant police surveillance. In particular, on 7 May an action marking the tenth anniversary of disappearance of opposition politician, former Interior Minister Yury Zakharanka was held in the center of Minsk. Scores of civil activists were detained on the eve. Haunting also continued in different parts of Minsk after the action. A total of 30 people were detained. The detainees were pulled into busses where they were insulted and beaten by police. As written by Maksim Serhiyets in his complaint, police officers humiliated and threatened him. They took away his mobile phone and then hit him in stomach with hands and feet and smothered him. These actions were accompanied with four-letter words. One of the policemen seized the activist by the coat and tore it. When Mr. Serhiyets was thrown down on the bus floor, one of the policemen walked on his back. Other detainees also lied down on the floor and were beaten. Then all detainees were guarded to the Tsentralny district police department. In several hours they were let go without being explained the reasons for the detention. No reports were drawn up.
06.05.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in April 2009
Few people gathered for the traditional action Chernobyl Way at the end of April. 'The past rally can be called an action of recession', commented Liavon Barshcheuski, Chairperson of the BPF Party. Meanwhile, persecution of democratic activists is going on. Human rights defenders are of the opinion that only point changes have taken place. The Minsk city executive committee banned holding of the action on the route that was proposed by its organizers. Democratic activists were detained in different regions of the country.
11.04.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in March 2009
Celebration of anniversary of the Belarusian People's Republic is one of the traditionally important events of March. 25 March 2009 was the first time in the recent years when the appropriate street action went on peacefully, without forced dispersals and detentions. However, one can't say that everything was alright and the right to peaceful assemblies was not violated. On the day of the event the police and security services conducted a number of preventive searches and detentions in the Belarusian capital and regions. In the afternoon the police burst into the apartment of Aleh Ladutska, a Minsk activist of the For Freedom movement, and searched it. They also detained Palina Dziakava, an activist of the For Freedom movement. The apartments rented by the Young Front activists Dzianis Karnou and Valer Matskevich were searched as well. In both cases police referred to telephone calls informing them about fights in the apartments.
