Belarus Condemned for Arresting Human Rights Defender

Posted August 5th, 2011 at 4:20 pm (UTC-5)
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Belarus is facing calls to release the country's leading human rights activist, who has been arrested and charged with crimes punishable by seven years in prison.

Authorities arrested Ales Belyatsky, founder of the human rights group Vyasna, late Thursday near his Minsk home on charges of tax evasion. In a statement, Vyasna denounced the case as political, saying the charges against Belyatsky are “punishment and retribution” for his long-running work in defending human rights.

On Friday, Human Rights Watch called for Belyatsky to be freed immediately. The rights group described the investigation against him as “a thinly veiled tactic to imprison a prominent human rights defender” and that it should be discontinued.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called Belyatsky's arrest the “latest example of persecution.” The OSCE urged Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and civil society activists.

Separately, the United Nations urged Belarus to guarantee Belyatsky's well-being.

Since the late 1990s, Belyatsky's group has provided legal assistance to Belarusians fined, arrested or imprisoned for criticizing President Alexander Lukashenko, including those prosecuted in connection with last December's rally against his election to a fourth term in office. Vyasna also runs a website offering information about alleged cases of human rights violations.

Dozens of people were sentenced to prison terms for taking part in the December protest, including several former presidential candidates. The opposition has since been holding rallies in which they clap but otherwise remain silent to protest Mr. Lukashenko's authoritarian rule and a deepening economic crisis.

In June, the OSCE issued a special report accusing Mr. Lukashenko's government of systematically using fear, harassment, torture and blackmail to clamp down on its citizens.

U.S. President Barack Obama also has criticized the repression in Belarus, saying Mr. Lukashenko has shown a total disregard for democratic values, the rule of law and his own people.

The United States and the European Union have imposed numerous sanctions against his government.

Belarus is facing economic turmoil with its national currency plunging in value and soaring consumer prices.