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The leadership of the Catholic church in the Republic of Belarus addressed the Belarusian authorities, requiring that they recover to them the Minsk Church of St. Joseph and the Bernardine monastery. Now, the building of the church now houses the Archive of the Scientific and Technical Documentation, and also the Archive of Literature and Art of Republic of Belarus. The building of the former monastery is occupied by the military commandant’s office. The believers started saying prayers for recovery of the Catholic sacred places. (26-APR-2005)

On 20 April it is 6 months since our colleague, a journalist on the independent newspaper Salidarnasts, a member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists Vieranika Charkasava was murdered. On the eve of the occasion the Belarusian Association of Journalists staged a press-briefing attended by Vieranika’s family and colleagues. (26-APR-2005)

The Belarusian authorities do not want to see Adrian Severin in Minsk, said Foreign Minister of Republic of Belarus Siarhei Martynau on 18 April. According to Mr. Martynau, what Mr. Severin presented at the session of the Human Rights Committee was a compilation from the US State Department report rather than his own review. (26-APR-2005)

Almost 40 people take part in the hunger-strike in the town of Vaukavysk. n 29th day of hunger-strike Vaukavysk businessman Mikalai Autukhovich feels quite bad. The state of the health of some other hunger-strikers deteriorated as well. Yesterday one more person joined – Anatol Dzeshka, former worker of tax inspection. (12-APR-2005)

On 29 March the International League for Human Rights filed an open letter to Aliaksandr Lukashenka to condemn the repressions the law machinery used towards participants of the “revolutionary” action that took place in the center of Minsk on 25 March. About 2,5 thousand people took part in the action. The police dispersed the action participants several times. Among the politicians who took part in the action there was Andrei Klimau (former political prisoner, now is tried for alleged insult to Lukashenka). (12-APR-2005)

Many Belarusian NGOs have been already liquidated on the initiative of the Ministry of Justice for invented or insignificant reasons. Human rights activist say it has turned into a liquidating organ instead of the registering one. Now the Ministry of Justice proceeds to political parties. At the same time, it continues to initiate liquidation of new NGOs. (12-APR-2005)

Human Rights Center Viasna is extremely concerned with the intensification of repressions against representatives of democratic opposition during the last months. Well-known public and political activists of Republic of Belarus are put behind bolt and bar for the reasons that are invented or provoked by the authorities… (29-MAR-2005)

On 22 March Mikalai Statkevich was summonsed to the Investigative Committee of the Main Board of Internal Affairs of Minsk City Executive Committee, where he was told that he had been found suspected in the criminal case initiated for mass actions of protest staged against the referendum results. M.Statkevich had to provide a written undertaking not to leave the city. (29-MAR-2005)

In October 2003 the chair of the taxi agency Mikola Autukhovich has already held a hunger-strike to protest against illegal actions of the local authorities. That time he managed to defend his business. Now he and his drivers have to do it again. (29-MAR-2005)