Photo: ByMedia.net

According to “Charter -97”, eight activists of the Youth Organization of Belarus, dressed in striped uniforms, arrived at the KGB building wearing placards with the following phrases; “I’m an independent journalist”, “I’m an independent observer”, “I’m a human rights activist” and so forth. The participants walked in a circle near the main entrance with their hands raised above their heads.

Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov passed by, and five minutes later, dozens of police removed the demonstrators from Prospekt Nezavisimost and the KGB building, and detained them all.

Arthur Finkevich described to the Belorussian service of Radio “Freedom” that they there treated roughly, and several persons were beaten up, including Finkevich himself. “I had to protect a comrade. After this, they took me into the hall and into another room. They struck me several times on my back and head”, said Finkevich. Human rights activists handing out the Human Rights Declaration on Prospekt Nezavisimost were also detained. The Vice President of the International Federation for Human Rights, Alice Belyatsky was among them.

Franak Vyachorka, who participated in the action, described to “Radio Freedom” that “people in GUM saw as they took the declarations from us and put us into the buses”. Human rights activists were also detained in other cities of Belarus. According to the human rights center “Spring”, in Mogilev, people handing out the Human Rights Declaration were also detained. They were held without charges for several hours, then let go.

In Mozir, activists of the organizing committee for the creation of the party “Belorussian Christian Democracy” and “Youth Front” celebrated the day by handing out about 150 pamphlets with the text of the Human Rights Declaration.
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In Brest, the chairmen of the local departments of the Trade Unions of the Radio-electronic Industry, Zinaida Mikhnyuk, and of the Free Trade Union of Belarus, Valentina Lazarenko, were detained during the passing out of invitations to a permitted meeting dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They were released after several hours and continued to pass out invitations, reports BelaPAN. More than 300 people took part in the meeting. Two participants were detained, and written explanations were demanded of them.

In Grodno, four activists were detained during the distribution of leaflets and flags for the 60th anniversary. They were eventually released.

In Vitebsk, administration officials, procuratorship, and police were congratulated by representative of the Belarus Helsinki Committee in the Vitebsk region, Pavel Levinov. He reminded them that Belarus was a founding country of the United Nations and a developer of the declaration, and that the country is now deviating from its international obligations for the protection of human rights.

In Baranovichack (Brest Region), authorities would not permit any banners to be hung celebrating the 60th anniversary of the declaration.

In all, reports “Spring”, about 30 activists were detained on this day. In an interview for Charter-'97, the Vice President of the International Federation for Human Rights, Alice Belyatsky commented: “It is distressing and upsetting that in our country, which signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it cannot be handed out”.

According to the United Nations in Belarus, the rights of one in three citizens of Belarus were violated this year. But the Belarussian service of Radio “Freedom” reports that about 2.5 million citizens of the republic (more than a quarter of the population) know nothing about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.