FACEBOOK LIKES

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Lukashenko rival’s whereabouts worry PACE

Belarus, Minsk: A protester wearing a mask shouts slogans during a protest march in the central of Minsk on December 19, 2010. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky) 20.05, 09:44

Two Belarusian presidential candidates have been found guilty of organizing mass protests against country’s President Aleksandr Lukashenko back in December last year.

Belarus presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov and his wife Irina Khalip. (RIA Novosti / Sergey Samokhin) 16.05, 12:06

A Russian journalist and the wife of one of Belarus’ presidential candidates Irina Khalip has received a two-year suspended sentence for her part in the December riots in Minsk.

Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko (RIA Novosti / STF) 13.11, 20:08

Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko has ratified a new law targeting public gatherings, including flash-mobs organized through the Internet. The latest move is viewed by many as a hardening of the regime’s stance on freedom of assembly.

Published: 17 November, 2011, 12:58

Former Belarusian presidential candidate Andrey Sannikov Former Belarusian presidential candidate Andrey Sannikov

TAGS: Crime, Politics, Human rights, Belarus, Opposition

A PACE rapporteur for Belarus has expressed concern over the fate of jailed ex-presidential candidate Andrey Sannikov, who has reportedly disappeared, and demanded that Minsk immediately clarify the situation.

“I get regular reports about the abuse and torture of prisoners. In this regard, I urge the Belarusian authorities to immediately inform Sannikov’s family and lawyers of his location, as well as to provide an access to him," Andres Herkel said, as cited by Belarusian news website Telegraf.by.

On May 14, Sannikov, a high-profile Belarusian opposition leader, was imprisoned for five years on charges of organizing mass protests after last December's presidential poll, which secured President Aleksandr Lukashenko a fourth term in office.

Up until recently the opposition leader was serving his sentence in a prison colony in Bobruisk. However, on Wednesday, when Sannikov’s lawyer Marina Kovalevskaya was going to meet with him, she was told that the jailed politician had been transferred to another prison. No explanations for the move were provided.

Later, Sannikov’s wife, journalist Irina Khalip, was told that her spouse would be sent to one of the penal colonies of the Vitebsk Region for his safety reasons. Commenting on the matter to the Belarusian Partisan opposition website, Khalip referred to the decision as “bullying a person in an attempt to demoralize and completely destroy him.”

According to BelaPAN report, Andrey Sannikov is currently being housed in a prison in Mogilev, eastern Belarus and will be later transferred to the Vitebsk Region. His lawyer Kovalevskya was though denied a meeting with the former candidate on the grounds that he is a prisoner in transit. The lawyer considers the decision unfounded and is planning to file a complaint.

State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov (RIA Novosti / Aleksey Nikolskyi) 16.11, 17:44

It’s high time to get down to creating a Eurasian Union, State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov says.

Doku Umarov (AFP Photo) Today: 16:02

The US has offered a $5 million reward for the information leading to the location of Russia’s most wanted Chechen terrorist leader, Doku Umarov.


View the original article here

No comments:

Post a Comment