 | POLITICS | |
Dear Viewers!
18:21, 24/12/2004
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We wish happiness, success and inspiration to you and your families. 
18:20, 24/12/2004
To support our neighbors Ukrainians on the day of re-vote in the run-off of the presidential elections in Ukraine on Sunday, December 26, we work starting from 3 p.m. Minsk time, and until the results of the elections announced. Stay with us!
18:06, 24/12/2004
“Wiretapping of political opponents by dictator regimes is a common thing. Let the authorities and state-controlled TV say that Mikhail Marynich’s case is not a politically motivated. One could agree to an American public figure who told that the Belarusian regime is “ a regime of the 30ies accidentally happened to emerge in the Europe of the 21st century,” told the Charter’97 coordinator Zmitser Bandarenka, commenting on the fact of eavesdropping of Mikhail Marynich’s phone talks by KGB officers sanctioned by the Prosecutor General. This fact has become known today during the trial over the famous political and diplomat.
18:04, 24/12/2004
The President of the Council of Ministers of the European Union Minister Bernard Bot has sent a letter to the Foreign Minister of Belarus, Mr Sergei Martynov. In the letter he called on Belarus to abide by the principles and standards of the OSCE and Council of Europe therefore ensuring a fair and public trial of Mikhail Marynich, former Minister of Foreign Economic relations, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Belarus, MP of the 12th Supreme Soviet. “I would also call on the Belarusian authorities to respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil Rights and Political Rights, and the principles and standards of the OSCE and the Council of Europe by ensuring that Mr Marynich has a fair and public trial. Many people believe that his detention and the legal proceedings against him are politically motivated. The EU will therefore be following the legal proceedings closely,” wrote the Presdient of the Council of Ministers of the European Union.
17:03, 24/12/2004
The Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus has issued an official warning to the editor-in-chief of the “Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta” (BDG) Pyotr Martsau (Petr Martsev). The reason for the warning by the prosecutor’s office was an article in the newspaper number 88 (1479) of November 12, 2004 under the title “Open to Attack. Prosecutor’s Office Initiates Of Toziks’ Entourage” telling about a criminal action initiated against the head of the central directorate of control over material production of the Committee of State Control Charadnichenka (Cherednichenko). The editor-in-chief of the BDG refused to name the author of the article and the sources of information to the prosecutor.
16:37, 24/12/2004
The failure of UN General Assembly to pass a resolution on human rights violations in Belarus, probably convinced the Belarusian authorities that there are no problems in this sphere in the country. And recently it has become known that the Special Rapporteur of UN Commission on Human Rights Adrian Severin, appointed at the 60th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, was banned entry to our country.
16:28, 24/12/2004
“Zubr” activists continue to support political prisoner Mihail Marynich.
All the time at the building of Minsk district and Zaslavl town court dozens of “Zubr” activists are presented. Most of them wear sweaters with portrait of Mihail Marinich and signature “Freedom to Marinich”. “Zubr” activists declare their intention to support Marinich until the trial is finished.
16:21, 24/12/2004
The subscription campaign for the first half-year of 2005 is about to finish these days. A wide number of non-governmental publishers of social and political newspapers were not permitted to promote their periodicals at the post-offices and in the public transport. At the same time the executive authorities were actively "obliging" both public and… private enterprises and organizations to subscribe to the state supported press.
15:54, 24/12/2004, photo by ByMedia.net
At the hearing of Mikhail Marynich’s case the new facts of the oppression of one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition have been revealed. The prosecution submitted to the judge a package of documents with information that the wiretapping of Mikhail Marynich’s conversations had been carried out from July 24, 2003 to March 24, 2004. The tapping of the politician’s talks had been approved by Prosecutor General of Belarus Viktar Shejman. The attorney of Mr. Marynich was not allowed to familiarize herself with these documents in detail, as the prosecutor told that they are “confidential”.
15:09, 24/12/2004
Director of policy planning office of the NATO Secretary General, former US Ambassador in Belarus Daniel Speckhard expressed his support to the Belarusian political prisoner, former Minister of Foreign economic Ties of Belarus, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Belarus Mikhail Marynich, the trial over who started on December 23 in Minsk. “ I hope that Belarusian authorities would display reasonableness and stop prosecution of Mister Marynich. Today’s policy would bring them to a deadlock, and the sooner they understand it the better it would be for everybody in Belarus,” underlined Mr Speckhard in his letter.
13:58, 24/12/2004
MPs of the European Parliament and of the Parliament of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have signed a letter of solidarity with the Belarusian political prisoner, former Minister of Foreign Economic relations, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Belarus, MP of the 12th Supreme Soviet, who is on trial in Minsk now. “The current Belarusian regime is responsible for the disappearances of political and public figures, mass repression against civil society, independent press, political parties and NGOs. In such situation there is no reasons to believe that Mikhail Marynich who denies all accusations, has any chance for a fair trial,” the parliamentarians wrote in the letter.
13:06, 24/12/2004
On the second day of the Mikhail Marynich’s trial only relatives were allowed to enter the courtroom. Neither reporters, nor human rights watchdogs, nor representatives of the diplomatic corps were allowed to come into the room. Judge Liudmila Dauzhenka justified it by absence of places for witnesses, and examination of witnesses is to take place at today’ session. As we have informed, yesterday journalists and human rights activists could not be in the courtroom at the trial which is formally considered public, allegedly as no spare places were left.
12:48, 24/12/2004
It is not excluded that the legal process in the case of prominent politician and public figure Mikhail Marynich, started on December 23, could last only four sessions. As the BelaPAN was told by Vera Stramkouskaya, attorney of the suspect, this view had been given by judge Liudmila Dauzhenka, who is conducting the trial. As said by the attorney, this supposition has been made by the judge, who “based upon the volume of the case” and her “experience of work”. But it is just an assumption. If needed, the trial would last as long as necessary to establish the truth,” told V. Stramkouskaya.
12:23, 24/12/2004
Russian politician Boris Nemtsov has expressed his solidarity with Belarusian political prisoner Mikhail Marynich, who is on trial in Minsk now. “Mikhail Marynich is an honest, courageous, respectable person. I express my solidarity with him, and wish him firmness and health.And Alyaksandr Lukashenka should remember that he is sure to take Mikhail Marynich’s place,” told Boris Nemtsov.
12:13, 24/12/2004
On December 23 representative of the Council of Ministers of the European Union attended the opening of the case against one of the leaders of Belarusian opposition Mikhail Marynich. In this connection the Embassy of Italia, which is the representation of the European Union in Belarus, has made a statement saying that: “The European Union has raised on many occasions its concerns about the situation in Belarus and condemned any actions of the authorities aimed at intimidating non-governmental organisations, independent media and political figures. Such actions go against the principles of democracy and civil rights that all European countries should share”.
12:12, 24/12/2004, By David Gollust, The Voice of America
The United States is accusing the Belarus government of "flagrant abuse" of its judicial system in the prosecution of opposition figure Mikhail Marinich. The former government minister went on trial Thursday on charges including the theft of U.S. embassy computers, an allegation the State Department denies.
11:35, 24/12/2004
The USA demands the authorities of Belarus to release one of he leaders of the Belarusian opposition Mikhail Marynich. In the statement of the U.S. Department of State it is said that Mikhail Marynich is prosecuted for his political believes. “It is clear that the Belarus government is prosecuting Ambassador Marynich for his political views. The current regime regrettably has done this to many other prominent Belarus opposition figures, including most recently Anatoliy Lebedko, who was charged with slander. We strongly condemn the flagrant abuse of the Belarus court system to persecute citizens for reason of their political beliefs. We call on the Belarusian government to respect human and legal rights and promptly release Ambassador Marynich and other political figures who have been detained, charged and convicted on spurious charges,” told Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman of the U.S. Department of State in the statement.
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