Swedish Helsinki Committee: Belarusian regime shows great ingenuity in looking for new ways of opposition persecution

Human rights activists and politicians of Europe stand against the repressive call-up of democratic activists of Belarus.

Secretary General of the Swedish Helsinki Committee Robert Hårdh thinks the European Union should pay more attention to the human rights situation in Belarus, pbnf.org writes.

The Belarusian regime is showing great ingenuity in looking for new ways of opposition persecution. That’s why it important for the European Union not to drop guard due to progress in some sectors, when pressure in other spheres is increasing, he said about the recent facts of using call-up to struggle against the civil society and the political opposition in Belarus.

The statement “Belarusian Activists punished with Draft” issued by the Swedish Helsinki Committee on January 21, emphasised that activists are expelled from universities on politically motivated grounds, people in civvies guard them to military enlistment offices where physicians are made to re-write medical conclusions. The documents mentions names of Z. Zhaleznichenka, A. Kalita, who have been already drafted into army, and F. Vyachorka and I. Shyla, who are being drafted at moment, and Z. Khvedaruk and P. Kuryanovich, etc.

The latest call-up of opposition activists is one of the signals indicating unwillingness of the Belarusian authorities to speak about democracy seriously,” the Swedish Helsinki Committee states.

The Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) with its headquarters in Norway appealed minister of defence of Belarus L. Maltsau on January 21 expressing its concern concerns about the conscription of civil and political activists in Belarus.

The HRHF is especially concerned about fate of the youth activists Ivan Shyla and Franak Vyachorka. Both of them were conscripted regardless of the fact that they had been declared unfit for military service by the physical examination of doctors. The HRHF states that the discriminatory treatment of youth activists is a breach of Article 26 of the 'International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights', saying all persons are equal before the law.

Member of the European Parliament Christofer Fjellner filed an appeal to the office of the Belarusian prime minister in the connection with violation of rights of Franak Vyachorka. Besides, he posted a statement of the youth leader on his blog and called on visitors to send such appeals, too.