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Use of force against demonstrators condemned
On 14 February the opposition youth movement Young Front organised its traditional St. Valentine’s rally. This year, hundreds of activists from Belarus’s Young Front movement and other youth organizations gathered on Minsk’s Yakub Kolas Square on Saturday afternoon. Despite the fact that the gathering was peaceful, the police and Special Forces from the Ministry of the […]
Belarus: Use of force against demonstrators condemned
In a letter to the Belarusian president Lukashenka, a coalition of 39 members of the Human Rights House Network have condemned the use of force and violence against peaceful demonstrators on both 14 February and 16 February. The signatories were also urged not to prevent peaceful actions, meetings and demonstrations.
Former political prisoners face up to 12 years in jail
Even before the detainees heard official charges President Aliaksandr Lukashenka a priori linked them with terrorist activities and urged for “the harshest penalty possible.”
Brutal crackdown on the Rally of Love in Minsk
“It was the cruellest crackdown in the 13 year history of St. Valentine’s Day rallies. They were beating up even girls,” says Zmitser Dashkevich, a leader of the opposition youth organisation Young Front.
No thaw without “Nasha Viasna” registration
Belarusian human rights defenders have their own test of the regime readiness to provide democratic reforms and maintain dialogue with the West.
Opposition tortured in Belarus
Belarusian law enforcement agencies decided to celebrate the International Day Against Torture in their own, unique style. Detained a day earlier, on 3 February, opposition activists from Homiel were forced to strip naked during a search.
Belarus: human rights NGO calls on the government to abide by commitments
On 26 January 2009, the human rights centre Viasna, which has been trying to regain its official registration since 2004, issued a statement calling upon the Belarusian authorities to abide by their international commitments and allow the registration of this human rights NGO.
Government needs to abide by commitments
Statement on Nasha Viasna registration On 26 January 2009 the Nasha Viasna human rights organization applied for registration to the Ministry of Justice of Belarus. The decision by the Supreme Court of Belarus on 28 January 2003 to liquidate the human rights center Viasna was an outrage against the freedom of association, guaranteed by the […]
European Parliament Resolution: Belarus needs more democratization
On 15 January the EU Parliament adopted a preliminary resolution on Republic of Belarus. MEPs acknowledge positive changes with democracy in the Republic of Belarus, but they are insufficient.