Viasna Human Rights Centre
The Viasna Human Rights Centre (Belarusian: Праваабарончы цэнтр «Вясна») is a human rights organization from Minsk, Belarus. The organization does help political prisoners and their families. Ales Bialiatski made it in 1996 as a result of the large-scale repression of demonstrations by the government of Alexander Lukashenko.[1]
Belarusian: Праваабарончы цэнтр «Вясна» | |
| Formation | April 1996, 26 |
|---|---|
| Type | NGO |
Region | Belarus |
| Fields | human rights |
Chairman | Ales Bialiatski |
Main organ | council |
| Website | spring96 |
Ales Bialiatski and other people from the Viasna Human Rights Centre have been tried and arrested for that. For example, on November, 26, 2012, the authorities locked up Bialatski and closed the Minsk house of organization.[2] Amnesty International said that was an open violation of what Belarus needs to do in the human rights field.[3]
From September 2020 to January 2021, these Viasna activists were arrested: Marfa Rabkova, Leanid Sudalenka, Tatsiana Lasitsa, Andrei Chapiuk.[4] They were named political prisoners and got the Homo Homini Award for 2020.[5]
In July 2021, the office of Viasna and the houses of its people were looked for.[6][7] Almost all representatives of Viasna who were in Belarus at that time, including Ales Bialiatski, were arrested.[6][7] It was done as a part of the pogrom of NGOs in Belarus.[6][7] These people were arrested on the criminal charges of getting riots ready and tax evasion.[6][7] They were named political prisoners like Rabkova, Sudalenka, Lasitsa, and Chapiuk.[7][8]
In the winter of 2021–2022, the Belarusian authorities recognized Viasna’s Internet pages as extremist materials,[9][10] and in August 2023, Viasna was declared an extremist group. Taking part in the activities of an extremist group is a crime in Belarus.[11]
Awards
change- Homo Homini Award (Ales Bialatski and the Viasna Human Rights Centre) (2005)[1]
- Freedom Award of the Atlantic Council (2011)[12]
- Homo Homini Award (Marfa Rabkova, Leanid Sudalenka, Tatsiana Lasitsa, Andrei Chapiuk) (2020)[5]
- Prize named after Marion Dönhoff (2021)[13]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Homo Homini Award". People In Need. 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
- ↑ Artur Smirnow (28 November 2012). "Minsk authorities close human rights office". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ "Belarus evicts leading human rights organization". Amnesty International. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ "THE HOMO HOMINI AWARD FOR 2020 WILL BE PRESENTED TO MARFA RABKOVA, ANDREI CHAPIUK, LEANID SUDALENKA AND TATSIANA LASITSA". People In Need. 2021-04-27. Archived from the original on 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Belarusian Human Rights Defenders Awarded With Homo Homini Prize". naviny.by. Charter 97. 2021-05-11. Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "«Нагнятаньне страху і банальная помста». Праваабаронцы камэнтуюць рэпрэсіі апошніх дзён" (in Belarusian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Беларусь: Руководителей Правозащитного центра "Весна" держат в СИЗО. Потребуйте от властей освободить их!" (in Russian). Amnesty International. 2021-07-22. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- ↑ "Затрыманых праваабаронцаў і актывістаў прызналі палівязнямі" (in Belarusian). European Radio for Belarus. 2021-07-15. Archived from the original on 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- ↑ "«Экстрэмісцкімі» прызналі праваабарончы тэлеграм-канал ПЦ «Вясна» і ўсе іх сацсеткі". Novy Chas (in Belarusian). 2021-12-30.
- ↑ "Усю інфармацыйную прадукцыю «Вясны» прызналі экстрэмісцкай". Novy Chas (in Belarusian). 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "Belarus: Viasna Human Rights Center declared an "extremist formation"". International Federation for Human Rights. 2023-08-28.
- ↑ "Freedom Awards". Atlantic Council. 2 April 2015.
- ↑ "20.000 Euro für Gerhart Baum und Wjasna" (in German). Börsenblatt. 2021-07-26. Archived from the original on 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
Literature
change- Ioffe, Grigory; Silitski, Vitali (2018). Historical Dictionary of Belarus (Historical Dictionaries of Europe) (Third ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 334. ISBN 978-1538117057.
