Human rights defenders arrested
On 25 May, two months after eight “Viasna” observers were first detained, the statute of limitations for the charges against them expired. The courts had sent the human rights defenders’ protocol documents back to Sovetsky District Police Station for further revision but they were not returned to the courts in time for them to be acted on.
On 8 May 2018, the trial of Tatyana Mastykina was held in the Court of Pervomaisky District in Minsk, Belarus. Due to insufficient evidence, her case was sent for revision to the Sovetsky District Police Station.
On 25 March 2018, six human rights defenders Maxim Kovalev, Tatyana Mastykina, Andrei Krechko, Anna Sakhankova, Anastasia Vasilchuk and Nasta Lojka, all members of The Human Rights Centre “Viasna” and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, were arrested in Minsk near Yakub Kolas Square for observing a public event. The arrests occurred during a banned opposition march in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Belarusian People’s Republic of 1918.
The Human Rights Centre 'Viasna’ works to promote human rights and provides practical assistance to civic initiatives for the legal defense of citizens. It also conducts research into the state of civil society and legal defense in Belarus.
