PACE rapporteur dismayed by harassment of Viasna human rights centre in Belarus

Submitted by admin on Wed, 11/28/2012 - 15:29

Strasbourg, 21.11.2012 – Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD), the rapporteur on Belarus of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has expressed his dismay that the “Viasna” human rights centre in Minsk has been ordered to vacate its office by 27 November, following a year of obscure legal procedures which transferred ownership of the apartment in which the office is located to the state.

“This is yet another blatant disregard of the Parliamentary Assembly’s calls to the authorities of Belarus to stop harassing civil society and human rights defenders,” said Mr Herkel. “Meanwhile, Ales Bialiatski, Viasna’s Chairman and a human rights defender, is still in jail, where he is subject to ill-treatment, despite repeated calls to the authorities to free and rehabilitate all political prisoners in Belarus.”

He continued: “The authorities’ recently-declared intention to renew contacts with the Assembly must necessarily go hand in hand with tangible and verifiable progress in terms of respect for democratic principles and human rights, including respect for human rights defenders and the guarantee of freedom of association.”

PACE’s Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy held a hearing with the participation of Valentin Stefanovich, Viasna’s Vice-President, and other civil society representatives in Strasbourg on 4 October 2012.

http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/NewsManager/EMB_NewsManagerView.asp?ID=8183&L=2

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News of Belarus

Tough sentences announced to Brest antifascists

Submitted by admin on Mon, 10/05/2015 - 21:00

A verdict was delivered today in the case of Brest antifascists acused of participation in a group fight with neonazis which happened on May 8, 2013.

Antifascists were tried under the art. 339.3 (malicious group hooliganism) and 147.2 (malicious bodily harm). The case was qualified as malicious due to the fact of pepper spray usage in the fight.

Dzmitry Stsyashenka got 5 years of penal colony with reinforced regime (339.3) and 500 euro of damages to be paid to the injured nazis.

Exclusive: European Union moves to suspend sanctions on Belarus

Submitted by admin on Wed, 09/16/2015 - 21:00

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