Bialiatski should be set free, says OSCE Chairperson

Submitted by admin on Sun, 01/29/2012 - 21:35

DUBLIN, 24 January 2012 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore, expressed regret today that prominent Belarusian human rights defender Aliaksandr (Ales) Bialiatski was not freed on appeal.

“A person should not be prosecuted for protecting human rights. This case is an unfortunate reflection of the state of human rights in Belarus and a result of the restrictions imposed on freedom of association in the country,” he said. “I urge the Belarusian authorities to immediately release Ales Bialiatski and all other civil society activists, and political opponents.”

Bialiatski,  Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Head of the Belarusian Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, was convicted on 24 November 2011 on tax evasion charges and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in an enhanced regime detention camp, with property confiscation.

“The continued erosion of human rights in the country is very worrying. By persecuting human rights defenders and limiting the freedom of association, Belarus is falling short of its OSCE commitments,” said the OSCE Chairperson.

Original sourse: http://www.osce.org/cio/87183

News of Belarus

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.

Valiantsin Stefanovich: "Viasna" will continue its work in all circumstances

Submitted by admin on Wed, 11/21/2012 - 10:45

It was reported on Saturday that the confiscation of the office of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" was scheduled for November 26. Human rights defenders stress that the news was not a surprise for the activists of the organization and they would continue their work in all circumstances.