According to Belarusian independent media, the former presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich, in prison since the presidential election in December 2010, has been sent to the punishment cell in Mahilyou prison No. 4 for violating the ”rules of wearing clothes” in penal colony No. 17 in Shklou.

On January 17, Statkevich’s wife Maryna Adamovich visited prison No. 4 in Mahilyou with Statkevich’s lawyer Syarhei Novik. Adamovich met with the prison chief Alyaksandr Lamaza and Novik talked to the political prisoner. According to the lawyer, Statkevich will remain in the punishment cell until January 24.

Isabel Sommerfeld singing words by Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu in Belarusian, at Medborgarplatsen, Stockholm.
Photo: Maria Söderberg.

The 19th of December 2011, one year since the electoral fraud and presidential election in Belarus, a solidarity meeting was held in Stockholm at Medborgarplatsen. For 12 hours, people arrived to the square to read poems written by Belarusian poets/writers, for freedom of speech in Belarus.

Founder of Info Belarus, Isabel Sommerfeld, also took part in the solidarity meeting, singing a song written by the Belarusian musician Pavel Arakelian, with lyrics based on a poem by the famous Belarusian poet and former presidential candidate Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu.

On the 19th of December 2011, one year since the presidential election in Belarus, the ukrainian FEMEN activists Inna Shevchenko, Oksana Shachko and Aleksandra Nemchinova organized a flash mob and stripped topless in front of the Belarusian KGB headquarters, screaming ”Long live Belarus!” and ”Freedom to political prisoners!” They later on disappeared and their friends could not reach them on their mobile phones.

According to our sources, and also independent media in Belarus, the activists have been found today in the Yelsk district of the Homel region, badly beaten, with shaved hair, naked, without phones or documents, tied to a tree in the woods. The girls don’t know who detained them but suppose it was officers of KGB and police. This information has been confirmed by the leader of the Ukrainian group, Anna Gutsol, who received a phone call from the girls.

http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2011/12/20/45991/

http://rt.com/news/lukashenko-kgb-femen-missing-235/

http://www.themoscownews.com/international/20111220/189305026.html

On monday, December 19th, exactly one year has passed since the Presidential Election in Belarus. The same day, one year ago, peaceful protesters were beaten and arrested by riot police, including writers, poets and journalists.

The 24th of november 2011, the Belarusian human rights activist and writer was sentenced to 4,5 years imprisonment and confiscation of property. The crime was according to the court, tax fraud. Though, it is well known all over the world that the conviction was politically motivated.

Due to the above, a day of solidarity, for free speech in Belarus is organized in Stockholm at Medborgarplatsen, the 19th of December 2011.

We read texts by authors such as Ales Razanau, Barys Pyatrovitj, Volha Ipatava, Andrey Chadanovitj, Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu, Dmitri Plax and Valerya Kustava. Twelve hours for free speech in Belarus. Founder of Info Belarus, Isabel Sommerfeld, will also be participating with a song written by the Belarusian musician Pavel Arakelian, based on poetry by Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu.

Location: Medborgarplatsen, Stockholm.
When: Starts at. 12:00 day time and stops at midnight, 24:00 sharp.

You will also be able to buy the authors/poets books – there’s a lot translated into Swedish. There will also be cookies and something warm to drink.

For more information and the whole program see: http://belaruslitteratur.blogspot.com/2011/11/tolv-timmar-pa-medborgarplatsen.html

”We were shocked by the verdict. We are afraid. Vlad is not involved in this crime, they could shoot a completely innocent person, it is terrible. They lied about everything, what Fedartsov read today is not true to the preparatory stage . They turned everything into what they needed, they ignored entirely what the FSB (Russian security Service) said in their expert opinions, they failed to mention many details. They painted a picture of the guys like monsters, but they are not! We will do what we can … We will write to the president and ask him to pardon them. I’m so afraid of what will happen to my brother. I can’t talk more now. ” – Tatiana, sister of Vladislav Kavaliou, who was today sentenced to death in Belarus.

Belarusian State TV have been propagating about punishing the young men with death penalty for a few days now, even before the verdict was announced. So it doesn’t come as a chock for anyone. Dmitry and Vladislav have been sentenced to death, even though the only ”proof” against them is a confession which was made during a questioning with the KGB, before they were driven to hospital for internal bleedings (they were badly beaten and probably also tortured).

Anyone confesses crimes if under torture. There is a possibility that Dmitry and Vladislav are not guilty. Once their lives are taken, there is no way of changing the sentence.

We urge the world’s journalists and politicians to strongly take a stand against the Belarusian court’s decision. Death penalty should not be a reality, year 2011 in Europe!

Sommerfeld calls for media to pay attention to the cases of Dmitry and Vladislav, to maybe influence the outcome of the sentence which will be outed in two days.

”We have two days to create a media outcry in the world to hopefully stop the court in Belarus from punishing the accused with death penalty. Regardless of their guilt, it’s not okay for a country in the middle of Europe to still actively use death penalty as punishment. When a life is taken, it will never return. We are fortunate to be born in a country with freedom of expression and press freedom. With freedom comes responsibility . So let’s focus the spotlight on ”Europe’s last dictatorship” and speak for the silenced,” Sommerfeld writes.

”Please help save my son from the death penalty.

On November 30th the Supreme Court of Belarus will make its final decision whether to sentence my son Uladzislau Kavalyou (Vladislav Kovalev) and another young man Dzmitry Kanavalau (Dmitry Konovalov) to death.

Kanavalau is accused of organizing the terrorist attacks in 2005 in Vitebsk, in 2008 in Minsk, and in the subway of Minsk in April 2011.
My son Uladzislau is accused of aiding.

The accusations are based on the statements made by these two young men, which, as many believe, were given under physical and emotional pressure. None of what has been said in court is supported by any evidence. My son insists he had not been involved in the terrorist attack and suggested Dzmitry Kanavalau has no relation to them either.

I believe that my son is innocent.
So do victims of the attack and many international human rights organizations:

- The victims of the attack have a number of questions regarding the impartiality and transparency of the trial and access to the case materials. Aliaksandr Kruty, a representative of one of the injured from the April attack Inesa Krutaya, made a motion to abolish the death penalty and asked the court to defer consideration of the case. A few days later – on September 20th – he was arrested and sent to a mental hospital allegedly for hooliganism. None of their motions were considered by the court;

- The defendants claimed that they were exposed to torture during the investigation to extract confessions.

- During the trial, independent journalists were banned from communicating with victims. The official media already refer to Kavalyou and Kanavalau as terrorists without awaiting the decision of the court.

With this petition, I am turning to you asking one single thing: I am asking you not to kill my son Uladzislau Kavalyou and Dzmitry Kanavalau, but instead to find those who are actually responsible for these terrorist crimes.”

At the moment Belarus is the only country in Europe, which continues to execute death sentences. And while these two men are in prison, those who are responsible for the attacks are walking freely.

Reports and Statements of Human Rights Groups:

Human Rights House: Human rights defenders concerned over trial against terrorism suspects in Belarus

Belarus Human Rights Group ”Viasna”: Stop murder – in the name of the people!

Amnesty International: Belarus continues to execute people despite the international pressure, date and time of executions are not made public to the families, bodies never returned.

He is threatened with 7 years in prison, and the official reasons for charging him is tax evasion/ economical crimes. By tricking the authorities of Lithuania and Poland not to follow the banking secrecy, KGB got access to information about accounts, registered in Ales Byalyatskis name. It is not possible for Viasna to open an account in Belarus (and it’s also illegal for NGO’s to get any funding from foreign institutions).

International human rights organisations, the leadership of the EU and the US and a number of other democratic countries demand the release of Byalyatski. Thousands of complaints from all over the world has been sent to belarusian authorities.

It has also been announced that Belarusian embassies around the world have denied visas to human rights activist who planned to come to Minsk to attend the trial over Byalyatski, Charter 97 reports.

For more info, see:

Human Rights Center Viasna

Charter97.org

SVD (in swedish)

During the elections in Belarus in december 2010 many oppositional activists and politicians had their phones surveilled by the government. Some of that surveíllance was provided by a cell phone company that Telia owns through Turkcell.

The article brings up the criticism brought towards Telia for participating in the regimes prosecution of oppositional in Belarus. A representative for Telia says that they are very strict about having a written request for information, that it is from the right authority and that it follows the law of the country. That is of course not very reassuring in a country where laws are not made to make it possible to be an oppositional politician but the direct opposite.

Telia has to stop supporting the regime in Belarus by participating in surveillance against oppositional politicians and activitsts!

Read the article in swedish here.