May 1
Six German nationals and a citizen of Poland will be deported from Belarus,
after standing trials and being fined for participating in a picket of protest
at the construction of a nuclear power plant. The foreigners were detained
on April 25, together with five more activists and later fined 700,000
Belarusian rubles (about about 162€).
May 4
Alik Mtsakanian and Viktoriya Gromava, human rights defenders from
Russia, are deported from Belarus and banned to enter the country for at
least two years.
The Police disrupt a press-conference organised by the organisation for
human rights Viasna. The organisation was supposed to announce its
report on the events after the presidential elections on December 19, 2010.
20 minutes before the event was expected to start Policemen tried to get
into the apartment, referring to a “operative operation” about explosives.
Having entered the office, the Police prohibited the people present to
move, collected their passports of some of them and detained the Russian
citizens Irina Paykachova, Viktoria Gromova and Lubov Zakharova and the
Ukrainian citizen Vladimir Chemeris. The participants were detained and
brought to the Police station of the Piersamajski District where they were
kept until late evening. Six foreign human rights defenders were are among
detained. After the Police forced the activists to explain what was going on,
they were released.
The authorities in the town of Polack send a letter to the local households
stating that they will no longer be able to subscribe to the two largest
independent newspapers in Belarus, Narodnaja Vola and Naša Niva.
The authorities cancelled subscriptions, informing the subscribers those
newspapers doesn’t exist anymore. Both Narodnaja Vola and Naša Niva
are two authorised newspapers in Belarus.
The Superior Economic Court of Belarus dismisses the appeal from the
Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) to abolish the unlawful and unjustified
decision by the authorities to cancel the rent of the party’s office in the
centre of Minsk, which may lead to the closure of the BPF Party.
The local authorities in the town of Viciebsk ban a street action of (motor)
cyclist. The participants intended to gather close to the City Hall and to
drive along the Lenin Street in order to propagate for the construction
of bicycle paths in town. However, the Road Police interfered with their
plans and stated that in case the manifestation was initiated it would be
considered as an unauthorized street action.
As a result, the activists gathered in the Peramoha Square, from where
the bicyclists started out in small groups. However, in Prauda and
Smalenskaya Street and in Frunze Avenue they were approached by
policemen who advised them to retreat to a certain location where the
action would not be noticed by many. Though, also at this site the activists
were ordered to disperse shortly after arriving.
May 5
New sentences for a number of participants of the demonstration against
the falsifications of the election on December 19, 2010: the Kastrycnitski
District Court in the city of Minsk found six activists guilty; among them
Dzmitry Drozd, Uladzimir Chamicenka, Ales Kirkievic, Andrej Pratasenia
and Pavel Vinahradau. Ales Kirkievic, Deputy Chairman and Chairman of
the local branch of the youth organisation of Young Front, together with
former activist of the European Belarus movement campaign and currently
activist of civil campaign Tell the Truth!, was sentenced to four years of
imprisonment. Dzmitry Drozd, members of Andrej Sannikau’s electoral
team and the non-partisan Uladzimir Chamicenka and Andrej Pratasenia
were each sentenced to three years of imprisonment.
Volha Klaskouskaya was violently taken out of her house, in handcuffs,
during the night and beaten by the Police in Minsk. The police hit her
over the ear and tore her blouse when she tried to defend herself. She was
taken barefooted to the Leninski District Police Department of Minsk and
was kept there until morning. Her relatives managed to pass her proper
clothes and shoes only in the morning. Volha Klaskouskaya is a famous
independent journalist and the younger sister of a KGB prisoner, former
policeman Aliaksandr Klaskouski who attended the post-election protests
on December 19, 2010, in his police uniform and tried to stop the police
from beating participants. Volha Klaskouskaya lived in Sweden for several
years. However, two and a half weeks ago she returned to Belarus (losing
the status of political refugee) in order to support her brother and his family
(wife and three children). Her mother Liudmila and 9-year-old daughter
Miraslava returned to Belarus with her.
Arciom Sarkou, organiser of the peaceful action of Stop Petrol-2, is fined
by the Leninski District Court of the city of Minsk to 1.050.000 Belarusian
roubles (about 245 €) in accordance with the Article 23.34 of the Code of
Administrative Offences; “violation of the order of organising and holding
mass events or pickets”. The action took place on April 28, at numerous gas
stations all over Belarus. Afterwards, Arciom Sarkou was detained by the
police and transferred to the Leninski District Police Department of Minsk
He was released after an hour without being charged.
The trial of Arciom Prakapenka, Pavel Syramalotau and Jauhien Vaskovic,
who are charged with arson of the Babrujsk KGB department, started at
10.30 a.m. on 5 March. They are charged under Article 339, part 2 of the
Criminal Code, “malignant hooliganism”, which envisages 7-12 years of
imprisonment. Jauhien Vaskovicc, a journalist with the independent local
newspaper Babrujski Kurjer, was detained on January 17, in Mahiliou. The
arson took place in the night between October 16 and 17, 2010 in Babruisk.
At first the police detained an activist of the anarchist movement Siarhei
Sliusar and searched his apartment. However, later he was released because
the investigation failed to establish his relation to the assault.
Tacciana Sieviaryniec, mother to Paval Sievaryniec, one of the leaders of
the Belarusian Chrictian Democracy, who is in custody in accordance with
the criminal case of “mass riots”, is violently treated by the Policemen
during the trial of oppositional activists in the Frunzienski District Court.
Tacciana Sieviaryniec came to the court carrying a small ribbon of the
national colours white-red-white. During the process the Police attacked
her and forced her to take off the ribbon.
May 6
Jaraslau Biernikovic, democratic activist from Hlybokaje, who was
previously accused of violating the law about arranging mass authorized
events, is fined to 700.000 Belarusian roubles (about 162€). The Police
opened an administrative case against the activist.
The Brest Board of Justice refused to register the Baranavichy civil
association of Ukrainians Kabzar. On May 5, the Chairman of the Kabzar’s
organizing committee, Mikalai Charanavus, received a letter, signed by
S.Kalinouski, chairman of the National Board. According to the letter, the
organization cannot be registered due to the lack of a legal address. As we
have already informed, on 8 April the communal Unitarian repairs and
exploitation enterprise of Baranavichy suddenly revoked its guarantee letter
of 21 March 2011 according to which it had undertaken to lend premises to
the public association.
May 7
During the trial of former oppositional presidential candidates Uladzimir
Niaklajeu and Vital Rymaseuski, Alaksandr Fiaduta – an associate of
Nyaklyaeu and famous political analyst –fell ill. Earlier, he was released
from the KGB jail on his own recognizance. Fiaduta was taken from the
courtroom in an ambulance.