Briefing notes on Belarus

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Ravina Shamdasani, on behalf of Rupert Colville
Location: Geneva
5 August 2011

The UN human rights office is concerned about reports of the arrest of a prominent human rights defender in Belarus yesterday (Thursday, 4 August 2011). Mr. Ales Bialatski, President of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” and Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) was yesterday arrested in Minsk. His whereabouts were initially unknown but it is now confirmed that he is in police custody. Given the many worrying reports of harassment of human rights defenders in Belarus, we call on the authorities to guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Bialatski and all human rights defenders in Belarus.

The Government of Belarus is obliged, by the international treaties which it has ratified, to ensure respect for the rights and freedoms of human rights defenders.
ENDS

For more information or interviews, please contact press officers: Ravina Shamdasani (+ 41 22 917 9310 or rshamdasani@ohchr.org ) or Xabier Celaya (+ 41 22 917 9383 or xcelaya@ohchr.org)

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ENDS