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While human rights activists in the Republic of Belarus are sounding the alarm about “the second wave of repressions”, on the eve of the EU decision about possible sanctions, the authorities went ahead and changed a form of pre-trial detention for five political prisoners who had previously been kept in the KGB jail (including presidential rival Niakliayeu, right). However, the remaining hostages of the regime are still in prison.

The analytical review, prepared by the Committee of International Control over Human Rights Situation in the Republic of Belarus, has recently been presented and distributed to those concerned. The document is a survey depicting the authorities’ interference into activities of journalists in the Republic of Belarus.

The Human Rights House Network’s Belarusian partners has addressed foreign Bar Associations to inform them about intimidation of lawyers in the Republic of Belarus. The Human Rights House Foundation has also called the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers for urgent action.

15 Norwegian organisations and political parties in Oslo appealed to the Norwegian authorities to increase their pressure on Republic of Belarus and demand release of all arested after the preisdential elections on 19 December. Around 35-40 persons in front of the Norwegian Parliament demonstrated in support of human rights defenders and political prisoners in the Republic of Belarus.

On 19 January 2011, the Belarusian Human Rights House is hosting a press conference on the human rights situation in the Republic of Belarus. International experts and representatives of human rights organizations from different countries will present their assessment of what is happening in Belarus from the human rights perspective.

The President of PEN International, John Ralston Saul, PEN’s International Secretary, Hori Takeaki, and the Chair of the Writers in Prison Committee, Marian Botsford Fraser, have addressed a letter to President Lukashenko of Republic of Belarus today protesting recent events following the flawed presidential elections in the Republic of Belarus. They urge in the letter immediately to order the release of all arrested writers and journalists.

The Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) sent today updated information to the Special Rapporteurs on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders and on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression about the human rights violations that continue in the Republic of Belarus.

According to the Analytical Note prepared by Belarusian and Russian HR defenders from the International Mission for Human Rights Situation Control in the Republic of Belarus, detentions on the presidential election day in Minsk and during the post-election period were characterized by violence, inhuman and degrading treatment, while trial proceedings failed to meet the criteria of a fair trial.

“Pressure on defenders in the Republic of Belarus does not allow them to perform their job”, concludes the Committee of International Control over the Human Rights Situation in the Republic of Belarus in its review. The document offers a systematic compilation of facts of interference in the activitiy of human rights organizations in the Republic of Belarus in the circumstances surrounding the presidential election in the Republic of Belarus.