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In 2012, a young Belarusian photographer spent more than a month in the KGB detention center for allegedly aiding the teddy bear air drop team to enter the country illegally. “Teddybear Airdrop” – a protest action against the violations of freedom of expression in Belarus, during which the Swedish citizens dropped a lot of teddy bears with different signs from an airplane.

The cyclists in many countries organize “Critical Mass” ride on the last Friday of the month. By this they want to draw the attention of city authorities and force them to make the city more convenient for the bicycles. The similar ride was held in Minsk on 29 April, and it ended up in detentions and searches.

On 25 April the human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka has lodged a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee in a case against Ašmiany customs officers, who confiscated his laptop and printed materials during the personal search on the Lithuanian border. The activist has exhausted all domestic remedies, including the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General.

The presentation of the book “Travlia” (“Manhunt”) by Sasha Filipenko, the writer and journalist, the winner of the “Russian Award” 2014 will take place on 4 May.

“2015 saw a dramatic rise in the number of people executed – at least 1,634 – the highest recorded by Amnesty International since 1989,” says the annual report on the death penalty in 2015, published on the website of the organization.

The CEC has yet to prepare proposals for the democratization of the electoral process based on the recommendations from human rights defenders, however, Aliaksandr Lukashenka has already spoken out against the “obscure democracy.”

On 25 March, 2016 in Vilnius all Belarusians will come together to celebrate Freedom Day. This memorable date will be marked by a number of different events.

Aliaksei Khmialeuski reports that he is experiencing unbearable pressure in the colony, which began after the death sentence of his own brother. In mid-February the Minsk district court issued the death sentence against 31-year old Siarhei Khmialeuski for double or more homicide. This is the second death sentence in 2016.

On 26–28 February, participants, alumni, and experts from Human Rights House Network’s International Law in Advocacy (ILIA) program met in Vilnius, at the Constitutional Court, to mark a successful conclusion to the third cycle of the program, and to welcome a new cohort of dedicated and enthusiastic human rights lawyers into the ILIA community.