Natallia Satsukevich and Siarhei Kaspiarovich, observers of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, were among them. Thus, police officers equated monitoring of freedom of assembly to taking part in a protest. Also, the protocols on the same charges were drawn up against several journalists.

For many years, Belarusian human rights organizations have been monitoring peaceful protests. They prepare reports with recommendations to improve the situation of freedom of assembly in Belarus and send sent them to the Ministry of the Interior, the Investigation Committee, the House of Representatives of the National Assembly and other government bodies. During such monitoring of the mass protests the responsible police officers were always coming in contact with representatives of the organizations, the written communication was carried out with the police. The observers are always marked with blue jackets and personal badges, they keep away from the demonstrators and are always easy to identify. Such facts of pressure have not been previously reported.

The Legal Transformation Center Lawtrend has prepared a communication, which was joined by the Human Rights Center “Viasna” and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee.

The message was sent to:

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus;

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders;

The Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association;

The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression;

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

The letter provides a description of what happened and calls for the Special Rapporteurs to write to the government about the case. The communication also calls to insist on a visit to the country to study the situation with the freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of speech and journalists and the overall human rights situation in Belarus.

Related articles

The pressure on human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka continues

Appeal to the Border Committee – attempt to put pressure on the officials?

Belarus will report on implementation of international commitments to the UN Human Rights Committee