Zhodzina town court
On 26.02.2010 in Zhodzina court an extraordinary and unexpected event happened. Everything started as usual and nobody expected anything surprising. Aliaksiey Lapitsky came to court to familiarize himself with the protocol of the court session which took place on 10-11.02.2010 with Tatsiana Tratsiuk as a head judge.
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Yury Shary, Zhodzina executive committee
On 24.02.2010 between 09-00 and 10-00, Juvenile Commission of Zhodzina executive committee held a meeting, which was attended under the threat of administrative sanctions by the parents of the Belarusian-speaking schoolboy Yanka Lapitski, who due to a series of decisions by Zhodzina executive authorities lost the opportunity to continue his education in Zhodzina gymnasium № 1 in Belarusian. Continue reading »
Аles Bialacki, PC "Viasna"
Mass detentions and arrests of representatives of the unrecognized Union of Poles, a nervous attitude of the police to the work of journalists, trials and allegations of disorderly conduct against civil and political activists – all this has its specific reasons, which the authorities try to cover up with demagogic statements on rights and freedoms. These are the reasons named by the vice-president of the International Federation of Human Rights, Chairman of the Human Rights Center Viasna Ales Bialiatski in an interview with our correspondent.
Siarhei Housha, Baranavichy
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.
BCD
On 18 February, Vital Rymasheuski and Pavel Seviarynets, co-Chairpersons of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party, and Dzianis Sadouski, BCD Senior Secretary, weren’t admitted to the sitting of the Supreme Court at which the verdict on the case BCD v. Justice Ministry was announced.
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Press
Assessing the role of mass media in covering the election campaigns, Lidziya Yarmoshyna, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, stated that ‘state mass media have the right to criticize opposition candidates during elections’, but ‘forgot’ to add that pro-governmental candidates also can be subject to similar critique with the aim of creating equal conditions for all candidates. Continue reading »
Regime afraid of solidarity
On 16 February the riot police dispersed the action of solidarity on Kastrychnitskaya Square in central Minsk. Some of the action participants were detained preventively on the way to the square. Riot policemen also prevented journalists from making photos. As soon as they saw a camera, they ringed the journalist. In some cases, they even tried hitting on cameras. Continue reading »
Court - without justice. Decision - ...
As it became known, as soon as on 11.02.2010 at 10-30, the day after the pre-trial proceedings, practically on the fly, without even letting the applicants to undress after entering the court room, Judge of Zhodzina Town Court Tatsiana Tratsiuk announced her final decision. Continue reading »
Прэс-канфэрэнцыя, Менск
On 11 February, human rights defenders presented their report on the procedure of the Universal Periodical Review of Belarus in the UN Human Rights Committee.
The Universal Periodical Review, to which Belarus prepares now, is a mechanism of the Human Rights Council, within the frames of which the Council holds regular reviews of implementation by 192 UN member countries of their obligations in the sphere of human rights. Continue reading »
This compilation of materials was prepared in August-September 2009 by a group of NGOs for conveyance to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in conjunction with the preparation of the Universal Periodic Review of the Republic of Belarus’ fulfillment of its international human rights obligations. Continue reading »
