President’s Office must stop exerting pressure on the CEC
The Committee of Voters of Ukraine considers the actions of the representatives of the Office of the President as an attempt to put pressure on the Central Election Commission and to interfere in its activities on the eve of the local elections. The CVU calls on the authorities to stop putting pressure on the CEC and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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”. […]
Decision to not hold local elections in certain constituencies of GCA Donetsk and Luhansk is a disenfranchisement of voters
On August, 08, 2020, on the grounds of conclusions from Donetsk and Luhansk oblast civil-military administrations, the CEC thereby established the impossibility to conduct the first local elections in 10 territorial hromadas (constituencies) in Donetsk Oblast, and in 8 hromadas in Luhansk Oblast. Notably, the local elections will not be organized in the de-facto oblast […]
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 […]
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 […]
Hundreds detained in post-election protests. Multiple injured. One reported dead
A girl hit with a rubber bullet. Photo: svaboda.org Riot police dispersed a series of post-election protests held in Minsk and other cities of Belarus. Excessive violence, tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons were used against the peaceful protesters in Minsk. Several people were injured, including one protester reportedly run over by a […]