44 protesters still in detention, 13 missing, one more reported dead
Protester detained by riot police. Photo: belsat.eu 44 people detained during the post-election protests remain in custody, after they were sentenced to short terms of administrative detention, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also confirmed that 6 persons were still held as part of “ongoing investigations”. Some 6,700 protesters […]
Call for an end to violence in Belarus and need for political dialogue with mediation of the OSCE
Image source: Belsat TV The presidential elections on August 9, 2020 took place under massive political pressure and contrary to Belarusian laws and international commitments. The ongoing state violence and detention of protesters against election rigging violates the Paris Charter and the values of democracy and Human rights in Europe. They are shaking Belarusian […]
EPDE members show solidarity with colleagues in Belarus
Image source: Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters Since the presidential election on August 9, protests broke out across Belarus which have been dispersed violently. Over 6 000 citizens have been arrested, including journalists and activists. EPDE members Belarusian Helsinki Committee and Human Rights Center “Viasna” also report that 150 observers have been arrested, including from their joint […]
Hundreds of protesters released from prisons. Torture reports mount
Image source: tut.by Several hundred protesters were released from the three detention centers in Minsk and Žodzina last night, while the exact number of them remains unknown. Many of them were taken away in ambulances immediately after leaving the prisons. The prisoners walked free against the background of certain relaxation of repression and a […]
Preliminary report on the presidential election
Observation of the presidential election is carried out by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” in the framework of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”. CONCLUSIONS The pre-election period was characterized by an economic decline against the background of contradictions in Belarusian-Russian relations and a considerable budget shortfall caused […]
Preliminary report on the presidential election
The Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections state in their preliminary report on the conduct of the presidential election that the electoral process at all of its stages did not comply with a number of basic international standards for democratic and fair elections and was accompanied by numerous violations of these principles and requirements of […]
Belarus Election Alert #6
Photo: www.newsabc.net Human rights activists in Belarus have called this election campaign gross falsification of the vote and the official turnout during early voting, which was confirmed in a statement saying that “Belarus failed to live up to its constitutional and international commitments, unduly restricting political rights and fundamental freedoms during the election period”. […]
Belarus Election Alert #6
Following the presidential election on August 9 and the declaration of Lukashenka’s victory, protests broke out across Belarus. They were dispersed violently by law enforcement agencies, resulting in numerous injuries, at least one casualty, and thousands of arrests. In this post-election edition Election Alert, we share the preliminary report and post E-Day statements of the […]
Human rights activists call to end arrests, violence and use of weapons against peaceful civilians
Joint statement by human rights organizations of Belarus Minsk – August 10, 2020 We, representatives of Belarusian human rights organizations, strongly protest against the actions of law enforcement agencies against peaceful demonstrators. The right to express an opinion at peaceful assemblies is one of the most important human rights. Belarus does not have effective mechanisms […]
Worst election ever’: Domestic observers sum up their disrupted monitoring campaign
The domestic election observation campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” has presented a report on the interim results of observation of the presidential election at a press conference on August 10. The human rights activists called the 2020 vote “the worst election ever”. According to Aleh Hulak, a co-head of the observation initiative, there is little trust […]
