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Eight international human rights NGOs sent a letter of concern to the Belarusian Parliament today urging to quash the package of legislative amendments that severely restrict freedom of assembly and association and restrict foreign financial support for NGOs.

10 October is the International Day against Death Penalty. Belarus is the only country in Europe, where the murder of citizens takes place in accordance with the law. The European politicians have called upon Belarusian authorities to impose a moratorium on the death penalty, while the Belarusian human rights defenders reminded passers-by on the streets of Minsk about the issues connected with death penalty.

Wednesday – is the traditional day of silent protests in Belarus. Since 21 September the organizers of the “Revolution through social networks” have decided to hold the actions in the new format. But already on 3 October, the parliament promptly adopted amendments to the “Law on Mass Events” directed against such actions.

On 20 September, the International Federation for Human Rights and the Human Rights House Foundation held a side event in Geneva on the prosecution of vice-president of the Federation and Chairman of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” Ales Bialiatski, arrested on 4 August 2011.

Inconvenient Films, Belarusian Human Rights House and Belarus Watch are inviting you to watch a movie about the Belarusian Free Theatre and to discuss: can people enjoy their freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in Belarus? Why more and more Belarusian citizens, journalists, artists, scientists, and others are seek political asylum in Lithuania and other countries? What is the human rights situation in Belarus?

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed concern over the Deutsche Bank issue of Belarusian government bonds after the post-election crackdown in which seven of the nine presidential candidates and 600 opposition activists were jailed. She promised to contact the bank directly over the issue.

The Human Rights House Foundation, together with partner organisations from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and the Russian Federation, took part at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation meeting in Warsaw on 25-29 September 2011. It made several interventions, addressing human rights issues in the countries, co-organised side events on Belarus and protection of human rights defenders and organised a protest campaign against the arrest of Ales Bialiatski. Maria Dahle, the Executive Director of HRHF, opened the 3rd working session on freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association, national HR institutions and HR education.

A number of human rights organizations prepared and sent a letter of concern on inadmissibility of death penalty to international institutions by reason of the trials of Uladzislau Kavaliou and Dzmitry Kanavalau, accused of organizing terrorist attacks in Belarus. Belarusian HRH joined the statement.

Concerns about the continuously deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus were raised by the Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) at the most recent UN Human Rights Council session. In its oral statement, HRHF highlighted the escalating repression against human rights defenders and their organisations, lawyers, journalists and political activists.