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Ballots found in garbage cans
62 filled referendum ballots were found in a garbage can in the city of Barysaw. The activist of the United Civil Party, former candidate to deputies in Barysaw village circuit Viktar Harbachow says that a member of his initiative group found them in the garbage can near secondary school #24 of Barysaw, where polling station #42 was situated. (4-NOV-2004)
Mikhail Marynich is left in jail for another month
On 28 September KGB decided to leave Mikhail Marynich in custody for 30 more days “for the interests of investigation. This will be the sixths month of jail for the ex-minister, who has been kept there since 26 April. (4-NOV-2004)
Hunger strikes against the election result
There are already three persons on hunger strike in the Republic of Belarus. All three cases are connected to the Parliamentary election. The first hunger strike was started by the chief editor of “Mestnaya Gazeta” newspaper Andrey Shantarovich. He believes the newspaper was suspended for political reasons so that it couldn’t elucidate the electoral process. (4-NOV-2004)
More imprisonments in Belarus
The 25 th of October five persons were detained for participation in the demonstration against the falsification of the Parliamentary election and the referendum in Kastrychnitskaya Square. (26-10-04)
Police tortures detainees
In the Republic of Belarus the use of the police force has a long history. In 1996 there took place the first violent beatings and detentions of opposition activists during Lukashenka´s rule. Since that time many thousand of people went through beatings, fines and imprisonments. Human rights organizations of Republic of Belarus always try to register such facts. The protest action of 19 October is one of the examples. (23-OCT-2004)
Public protest in Minsk continues despite imprisonments
The first actiong of protest against the shameless falsification of the results of the election and the lawless referendum took place on 18 October. It was attended by numerous foreign observers and journalists. That´s why all the detainees were released. The detainees of the second protest action, 19 October, received huge fines or 3-15 days of jail. Nevertheless, the protest actions in Kastrychnitskaya square in the center of Minsk continue. (22-OCT-2004)
VIASNA statement: New wave of political repression has begun
The Parliamentary election and the republican referendum in the Republic of Belarus were conducted with numerous violations of the national electoral legislation and international standards. The falsifications and manipulations that were committed during the electoral campaign resulted in the wave of fair protest of the country’s citizens. That’s why the authoritarian regime in Republic of Belarus started an unheard assault on human rights and liberties. (22-OCT-2004)
Crackdown on demonstrators in Belarus
Representatives of the Human Rights House Network condemn the crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, journalists and representatives of the Belarusian political opposition by Belarusian authorities on the 19th of October. (21-OCT-04)
KGB keeps eye on observers
On the eve of the parliamentary election in the Republic of Belarus the state shows more and more activity in pressurizing its citizens and taking different lawless measures. Everyday human rights activists discover new interesting facts. Recently future election observers found out that an anonymous KGB worker was watching their assembly. (06-10-04)