The report, entitled "Human rights violations in 2002 chronicle" was presented by the Charter’97 human rights coordinator Ludmila Gryaznova. The document accumulates information about political disappearances, tortures, arrests and detentions of directors, entrepreneurs and statesmen, refusals to hold just and open judicial processes, violations of the freedom of speech and press, freedom of peaceful assemblies and associations, freedom of faith, trade union rights, government’s relation to the international and non-governmental investigation into human rights violations. In conclusion, Ludmila Gryaznova analyzed the legal situation in the country in the year 2002 in the following way: "Human rights violations in 2002 aren’t less massive than during the presidential elections 2001. Alexander Lukashenko, having cast away the illusions of heading the Russian-Belarusian "union", concentrated on Belarus. In order to prepare for the third presidential term and concomitant referendum, the authorities continue to suppress fundamental human rights and freedoms".

---

Human rights violations chronicle in December 2002
Belarus’ neighbors are accessing the European Union and NATO, joining the European civilization and safety. Latvians, Lithuanians and Romanians turn into real citizens of the unified Europe. The bell finally tolled for Belarus, where the journalists don’t spend nights at home and politicians get assaulted in the street in the darkness of the night. It is high time we get down to reforms, otherwise the door to Europe will go shut for it for ages.

---

Vitebsk UCP member was sentenced to 10 days of arrest for staging an unsanctioned picket. Fedor Bakunov’s arrest was carried out right in the courtroom, whereas the family of the detainee learned about that not until last night.

---

“The heads of companies, who failed to prevent the untimely payment of salaries, must be fired without a right to occupy leading posts in the future”, the Belarusian Prime Minister Gennady Novitsky was instructed yesterday by the country’s president Alexander Lukashenko.

---

Zinaida Gonchar claims that procuracy has never interrogated main suspects in her husband Viktor Gonchar’s disappearance case. The lady mentioned that in an interview to Radio Ratsya in connection with the investigator’s intention to cease investigation into the abduction of Gonchar and Krasovsky.

---

ZUBR movement’s activist Denis Chikalev was detained and brutally beaten on January 9 by the Gomel police. The reason for that was the passing out to passer-bys of the New Year issue of the newspaper “ZUBR”.

---

The former Soviet republic of Belarus has emerged as a possible refuge for Saddam Hussein after American officials hinted that the Iraqi leader might be allowed to flee into exile to avert a U.S. assault on Baghdad. A visit to Iraq by a presidential delegation from Belarus last week coincided with a suggestion by U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that Mr. Saddam and his family could "leave the country." Mr. Rumsfeld said in a television interview: "If he doesn`t care to give up his weapons of mass destruction, then he`s got the choice of leaving."

---