On 3 November civil activist Ryhor Hryk filed with the Baranavichy City Court an appeal against the picket ban issued by the Baranavichy City Executive Committee. The activist intended to hold a picket against the rapid growth of prices and the pauperization of the population on 5 October. As it was stated in the CEC refusal, the slogans that were stated in the picket application didn’t correspond to the aims and notions, adopted in Article 2 of the Law “On Mass Events”.
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On 27 July, Baranavichy civil activist Aliaksandar Vaitseshyk lodged a complaint with the town’s police chief against an incident that reportedly took place in the activist’s flat on the same day.
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Baranavichy town executive committee banned a picket marking the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster scheduled for 26 April. Continue reading »

On 1 April the Brest regional territorial election commission considered at its sitting the complaints of the people who hadn’t been registered as candidate for deputies by the Baranavichy city election commission on 25 March. The city election commission also refused to consider the complaints of the electors who had signed in support of the candidate Dzmitry Auhust, against abuses of members of the commission. Continue reading »

Baranavichy town executive committee amended its decision #379 of 12 February 2010 on canvassing locations in the town, failing to provide explanations for the changes. The updated list of canvassing locations includes the entire territory of the Komsomol 50th Anniversary Park, thus ‘enlarging’ the canvassing opportunities by 50%. Continue reading »

On 12 March, the member of the Belarusian Popular Front Siarhei Housha addressed Viktar Dzichkouski, Chairperson of the Baranavichy city executive committee, with a letter in which he wrote that he had been present at the historical sitting of the executive committee, at which the composition of 66 precinct election commissions consisting of 685 persons were adopted without the announcement and discussion of any the candidacies. The number of the applications on nomination of persons to the precinct commissions, the surnames of the nominees and those who were included in the commissions weren’t announced either. Continue reading »

On 17 February, human rights defender Siarhei Housha, observer of the Belarusian Language Society in the Baranavichy city election commission, lodged a complaint with he Baranavichy prosecutor I.Palyka concerning the determination of the places for agitation by the Baranavichy city executive committee (CEC).

Bear in mind that the Baranavichy CEC determined only one place for it – the 50-hoddzia ULKSM Park.

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Finally the human rights defender from Baranavichy Siarhei Housha got an answer to his inquiries to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus about who must implement the decisions of the UN Human Rights Committee.

In particular, Siarhei Housha asked the MFA why the Belarusian state didn’t implement the Committee’s decision concerning the Human Rights Center Viasna and why the state still hasn’t restored his right to association. According to Mr. Housha, if this question is beyond the MFA competency, the officials were obliged to tell to who he must apply.  Continue reading »

Tags: Baranavichy, Housha, human rights activists, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, registration, UN Human Rights Committee

Baranavichy human rights activist Siarhei Housha has lodged a repeated complaint with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, voicing his opposition to the Ministry’s reply, which named the Optional Protocol as ‘not having a binding effect’ for the parties to the Treaty to implement the conclusions by the UN Human Rights Committee.

In his complaint, the human rights activist stresses that the conclusions by the Committee ARE binding, which is stated in Article 61 of the Belarusian Constitution, securing everyone’s right, under international legal acts, ratified by Belarus, to address international organizations to protect one’s rights and freedoms, in case he or she is unable to find rehabilitation within the national legal system. Continue reading »

Tags: Baranavichy, Housha, human rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN Human Rights Committee

The human rights defenders of Baranavichy seek to stop the disgraceful practice of banning mass actions by the local authorities. Siarhei Housha, Karnei Piatrovich and Viktar Syrytsa prepared an address to the prosecutor’s office of Baranavichy district concerning the ban of a picket to them.

According to Mr. Housha, they are indignant at the very form of the denial: ‘your application for holding a picket in Baranavichy is not in line with the normative acts’. In their address to the prosecutor’s office the human rights defenders point at the fact that the normative acts they allegedly violated weren’t specified in the text of the denial. Besides, the officials exceeded the legal terms for answering. According to the law, the answer was to have been submitted five days before the action, but was submitted just two days prior to it. Continue reading »

Tags: actions, death penalty, human rights activists, pickets