Belarus: PACE Political Affairs Committee condemns the prosecution of political opponents

Submitted by admin on Wed, 06/01/2011 - 14:12

"Given the ongoing harassment and political trials of civil society and political opponents, and continuing the restrictions of freedom of speech and association, the human rights situation in Belarus is deteriorating and remains a matter of serious concern," today said Sinikka Hurskainen (Finland, SOC), outgoing PACE's rapporteur on Belarus.

At the meeting of the PACE Political Affairs Committee, Mrs Hurskainen presented information about the most recent politically motivated trials and the crackdown on human rights defenders and non-state media in Belarus. "With such harsh prison sentences, threats to shut down independent newspapers and the prosecution of human rights organisations, the Belarusian authorities persistently fail to respect Council of Europe standards of democracy, human rights and the rule of law," she declared.

The Political Affairs Committee strongly condemned the ongoing prosecution of political opponents by the Belarusian authorities and called for the release of all political prisoners. During PACE Summer session (20-24 June 2011), the committee is to hold an exchange of views on the situation in Belarus with representatives of civil society and democratic opposition, paying special attention to the politically motivated trials and the parliamentary elections in 2012 in this country.

The Political Affairs Committee, taking into account "the present deplorable situation" of non-registered organisations in Belarus, decided to request the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) to provide an assessment of the compatibility with universal human rights standards of Article 193-1 of the Criminal Code vis-à-vis the rights of non-registered associations in Belarus.

Source: http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/NewsManager/EMB_NewsManagerView.asp?ID=6705&L=2

Original document: http://assembly.coe.int/CommitteeDocs/2011/Apdoc18.pdf

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News of Belarus

Belarus prisoner release: Same old trick

Submitted by admin on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 21:00

Good news from Belarus is rare, but last weekend president Alexander Lukashenko pardoned six political prisoners.

For the pardoned, all serving multi-year prison terms for challenging Belarus’ autocracy, this is, to say the least, a relief, and has been welcomed by local democrats and the international community.

Lukashenko has declared his decision an act of “humanity”. But is, in fact, a carefully timed tactical move to sway the European Union at a time of growing domestic and geopolitical pressure.

The question is whether he will succeed this time.

The International Day of Solidarity with Belarus 2015

Submitted by admin on Mon, 08/17/2015 - 13:49

Seven countries around the world celebrated the International Day of Solidarity with Belarus on August the 4th. Human and civil rights activists, as well as other people who are simply sympathetic with the citizens of Belarus and who share deep concern about their future, took part in online discussions, talked to people on the streets and posted various material in social media in order to raise awareness of countless violations of human rights in Belarus.

Solidarity with civil society in Belarus

Submitted by admin on Mon, 08/03/2015 - 21:00

4 August is an international day of solidarity with the civil society of Belarus. This day matters, because of the daily pressure against civil society in Belarus.

When a coalition of international civil society organisations, at the initiative of the International Youth Human Rights Movement of Voronezh (Russian Federation), launched the idea of an international solidarity day with civil society in Belarus, the country was coming out of the 2010 presidential election cycle, which symbolically ended with the arrest of the country’s leading human rights defender Ales Bialiatski.

The 4 August is key to Belarus, because of Ales Bialiatski’s arrest on this day in 2011. The day is now a symbol of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s repeated practice of arbitrary arrest of voices criticising his way of governing the country.