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Minsk: Human Rights Center Viasna expresses its decisive protest against the criminal case against the oppositional activists Paviel Sieviaryniets and Mikalai Statkievich. According to the court verdict, both politicians were sentenced to three years of jail on 31 May. (3-JUNE-05)
 

According to the investigators, the interview given by Hary Pahaniayla to the Swedish television last year contained a libelous statement. In February the criminal charges against Hary Pahaniayla were dropped, the corresponding ruling said that the actions of the human rights activist did not constitute a crime though were libelous with respect to Lukashenka. (30-MAY-2005)

Under the pressure from the ideology department of Minsk City Executive Committee, the managers of the Republic of Belarus Hotel, where a contact Belarus-Sweden conference was due to take place on 20-22 May, refused a rental agreement. And at the last minute the Belarusian Embassy to Sweden refused visas to the Swedish participants of the contact conference, said the press service of the NGO Assembly. (30-MAY-2005)

Hrodna Leninski Court rehabilitated the editor of Glos znad Niemna newspaper who
had been fired by the organizational board of the newspaper’s founder, Union of Poles in the Republic of Belarus, in accordance with the rules of the organization’s statute. At the same time, the Ministry of Justice found incompetent the union’s last assembly, at which the new head of the organization was elected. (13-MAY-2005)

According to Eugeniusz Wappa, chief editor of Niva weekly, on 11 May the procurator’s office of Bialystok, presented to the accused members of the program board of Niva weekly proposals of so called “conditional punishment”. After they refused to take the blame, the judge decided the case would be considered at court. (13-MAY-2005)

Andrei Klimau, deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the 13th Convocation, is kept in investigative isolator since 22 April. The investigation accuses him in organization of a street action on 25 March that allegedly led to mass riot. (13-MAY-2005)

In Moscow Basmanny Court punished participants of the protest action against the imprisonment of Chrnobyl Way action participants in Republic of Belarus. Six Moscow protestors were sentenced to different terms of arrest, one was fined. (13-MAY-2005)

The active investigative measures were renewed on the case of the disappearance of Dzmitry Zavadski, cameraman of the Russian ORT TV channel. On the solicitation of Hary Pahaniaila, defense lawyer of Zavadski’s relatives, the investigation searches for the body in the towns of Orsha and Krupki. The General Procurator’s Office of Republic of Belarus tells nothing about the details of this search, referring to the secret of investigation. At the same time, the commemorative actions dedicated to Iury Zakhranka, are dispersed by riot squad police. (15-MAY-2005)

On 26 April in Minsk the traditional Chernobyl Way action took place in Minsk. Despite the peaceful nature of the action, the riot squad police acted violently. They dispersed the action and detained Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian citizens, most of whom were imprisoned afterwards. During the detention they seriously injured wrist to under-aged boy. (15-MAY-2005)