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Three leaders of Homel criminal gang – Valery Harbaty, Ihar Danchanka and Siarhei Marozau – have been executed by shooting lately. On 6 February the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis condemned the new facts of death punishment in Republic of Belarus. Earlier the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Rene van der Linden also called the president of Republic of Belarus to abolish the death sentences to the criminals. (8-FEB-08)
 

Democratic forces in the Republic of Belarus have started a campaign demanding decent serving conditions in the detention center in Akrestsina Street in Minsk. This institution is well-known in the Republic of Belarus as the jail where participants of civic actions, youth activists and political opponents of the regime serve short-term arrests. The present conditions of incarceration, mainly of political prisoners, are more like torture, according to Valiantsin Stefanovich, right, a Belarusian human rights lawyer, working for Viasna. (29-JAN-08)
 

Minsk city court announced its verdict on the case against Alexander Zdzvizhkou, former deputy editor-in-chief of Zhoda newspaper. He was found guilty of violation of article 130 part 2 of the Criminal Code “inciting religious enmity” for reprinting caricatures of Prophet Mohammed. Zdzvizhkou was sentenced to three years´ of imprisonment in a medium security prison. (18-JAN-08)
 

On January 10th individual entrepreneurs held a mass protest action in Minsk. The action was carried out within the framework of the nation-wide strike of January 1-15. Protest rallies were also held in Mahiliou, Barysau and other cities. Entrepreneurs protest against some regulations of president’s edict # 760. According to the edict, since January 1st entrepreneurs are not allowed to hire employees except for their family members. (11-JAN-08)
 

A number of Internet-sites that deal with the active coverage of social and political events in the Republic of Belarus were fully or partially blocked. from the morning of January 10. The visitors couldn´t enter some of them. A number of Web-sites were opening too slowly. Most probably, the break was reasoned by the protest action, arranged by individual enterpreneurs (10-JAN-08).
 

On November 21 the Third UN Committee adopted the resolution on Human Rights situation in the Republic of Belarus. The document was introduced by USA in co-authorship with Australia, EU, Israel, Canada, Switzerland and Japan. The resolution expresses ‘deep concern’ with the systematic HR violations in the Republic of Belarus and ‘further erosion of the democratic processes’. (22-NOV-07)
 

Belarusian human right defenders express deep concern about the destiny of the political prisoner Andrey Klimau. They appeal to everyone to support Mr. Klimau as he is kept in very bad conditions in the prison. On August 1 he was convicted for 2 years of prison for the publications in the Internet. (21-NOV-07)
 

Social March “For Justice” took place in Minsk in November the 4th. Participants of the action put number of claims to the authorities – to stop the prices increase, to carry out economical reforms in the Republic of Belarus, to get back the benefits, to give liberty to the privet industry, to increase wages and retires payments. (05-NOV-07)  
 

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus considered the Ministry of Justice refusal to register Human Rights Association “Viasna” warrantable. The trial was open. The Belarusian democratic society has no doubts in a political way to resolve the question. (27-OCT-07)