Human rights activists bid defiance to authorities: “We speak on behalf of unregistered organization!” (Video)

Despite the threat of imprisonment, “Viasna” founders say: “We are going to defend the rights of Belarusians even if we don’t have official registration”.

Famous Belarusian human rights activists Valyantsin Stefanovich, Ales Byalyatski, and Uladzimir Labkovich spread the next statement.

“We state officially that we have worked and are working on behalf of the unregistered organization “Viasna Human Rights Center” and will continue our activity on behalf of the organization. We are ready to any reaction of the authorities to our statement, but we would welcome the authorities if they cancelled shameful article 193.1 of the Criminal Code of Belarus as they believe it violates the Constitution and doesn’t meet international standards in human rights sector, first of all, the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights.”

We believe our activity is absolutely legitimate. We hope the authorities will take some measures to cancel this article not to fight with us. We a re not criminals, we don’t violate anybody’s rights, we defend human rights and this is absolutely lawful in any normal democratic country,” the public activists said in the statement.

It should be reminded that on May 25, the Ministry of Justice of Belarus issued the third decision on non-registration of “Nasha Viasna” human rights NGO in the order established by law. The human rights defenders tried to register the organization under the title “Nasha Viasna” after “Viasna” center had been closed down in 2003.

The human rights activists said the claims of the Ministry of Justice were not grounded on the Belarusian legislation and called the current practice of NGO registration “absurd”.

“The Belarusian authorities don’t want to register it for unlawful, as I think, reasons. We regard this as a systematic discrimination of human rights activists and will file a claim to the UN Human Rights Committee. I realize I fall under article 193.1 of the Criminal Code (activity on behalf of unregistered organization). But I state the Belarusian human rights defenders won’t stop their activity with registration or without it,” Valyantsin Stefanovich, a founder of “Nasha Viasna” said.

It should be reminded that many opposition activists and human rights defenders, among them members of “Partnership” organization monitoring the elections Mikalai Astreika, Enira Branitskaya, Tsimafei Dranchuk, Alyaksandr Shalaika, leader of “Young Front” Zmitser Dashkevich, “Young Front” activists Kasya Salauyova, Aleh Korban, Alyaksei Yanusheuski, Anastasiya Palazhanka, Zmitser Khvedaruk, Barys Harestski and others have been sentenced to restraint of liberty or got big fines under article 193.1 of the Criminal Code of Belarus in recent years.