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The European Union decided to prohibit the entrance to its territory to the police colonel Padabed for participation in the beating of the leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka during the protest action of 20 October and the head of the Central Election Committee of Republic of Belarus Lidziya Yarmoshyna — for falsification of the results of the parliamentary election and the referendum of 17 October. (16-DEC-2004)

Minsk: In the morning of 10 December 2004  Belarusian human rights activists gathered near the National Prosecutor’s Office in order to pass their appeal to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus. According to VIASNA the state prosecutor Barys Zhyldzetski accepted the report (11-DEC-04).
 

Vienna: The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) express their grave concern over the ongoing harassment of human rights defenders in the Republic of Belarus. (7-DEC-2004)
 

The prosecutor of Minsk Savetski Borough Prosecutor’s Office Mikalay Platnitski gave the official warning about “inadmissibility of libeling insinuations” to the head of the central committee of the Party of Communists of Republic of Belarus Siarhey Kaliakin. (07-DEC-2004)

At 10 am. on 2 December the the correspondent of the non-state newspaper Narodnaya Volia in Homel region Iryna Makavetskaya was at Homel Chyhunachny Borough Court. She wanted to write an article about an open trial. In the very beginning of the trial the head of the court Tatsiana Adrybets ordered Makavetskaya to leave the court hall. The journalist refused to do it saying she would obey only to lawful demands of the court. (07-DEC-2004)

Vawkavysk District Court fined the chief editor of Mestnaya Gazeta newspaper 50 basic values (1 200 000 Belarusian rubles). Judge Yury Yakimovich considered the hunger-strike of the defendant as unauthorized picket. (26-NOV-04)
 
 

On 25 November the college board of Minsk City Court rejected the demand by Volha Zavadskaya, the mother of cameraman Zmitser Zavadski who disappeared in July 2000, to renew the investigation. (26-NOV-04)
 

An open Republic of Belarus is a threat to President Lukashenko´s dictatorship. Sanctions and isolation will strengthen the status quo, said representatives from the Belarusian opposition when they visited the Human Rights House in Oslo the 18th of November in a conference organised by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and NUPI, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. (22-NOV-04).
 

Human Rights Center “Viasna” has already prepared “Preliminary monitoring on facts of tortures and other inhumane treatment of citizens of Belarus”, based on the principles of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The English version of the report will be soon available at the “Viasna” site: www.spring96.org (16-NOV-04)