Five “Zubr” activists detained by police in Barysau. This young guys were detained in their educational establishments during classes. After that they were taken to Barysau police department. We could speak to one of the detained people Aliaksandr Malchanau over the mobile phone. According to him police officers interrogate “Zubr” activists about recent actions of the movement. “Zubr” activists Mihail Staravoytau and Aliaksandr Kazak are also held there. Names of the other arrested people are not clear for now.

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Hunger strike of Valkavysk businessman Mikalay Avtuhovich lasts 18 days. Drivers of enterprise “Nika-trans” take part in the action too. 29 people already take part in the hunger-strike. Not all of them are workers of “Nika-trans”. Some citizens say that they are taking part in the action as a sign of solidarity.

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In the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Georgia and, most recently, Kyrgyzstan, peaceful, pro-democracy protesters have ousted corrupt and autocratic governments that attempted to hold onto power through rigged elections. Maybe these are isolated incidents, but it would be nice if these bloodless outpourings of respect for honest elections were part of a pattern. That last is certainly a fear in Belarus, where Alexander Lukashenko, who has fashioned himself into an old-style Soviet dictator, rules with an iron fist.

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On March 25th, several hundred people rallied in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, demanding the resignation of authoritarian President Aleksander Lukashenko. A massive presence of security forces dispersed the rally, at times using excessive force. They arrested thirty-one protestors and inflicted several injuries.

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This is the information provided by Radio Liberty. Yulia Darashkievich, Hrodna-based reporter with the Nasha Niva newspaper, is going to press for a criminal case against police officers who prevented her from doing her professional duties. While dispersing the businessmen’s rally in Hrodna, special police detained Yulia Dashkievich: “I survived through stress, when two special police officers were dragging me, a young pretty girl, through the city center, which left awfully painful and large bruises all over my body. I was shocked, I could imagine this happening to me. I am not a terrorist, I am just a law-abiding citizen, and I was treated as if I had done something terribly evil. Secondly, I am indignant at the way the police chief Chubanau behaved, who had given the order to do this to me. He was unbelievably rude, shouting: “Freeze! Where is your accreditation card!” Then he simply said: “Take her away." So these two police officers grabbed me and dragged me onto the other side of the rally site".

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On 14 March Ministry of Justice adopted a ruling amending the Rules for legalizing and reviewing documents submitted for state registration by political parties, professional unions, other public associations, and also registering the above entities and their branches with the state.

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Valiantsin Lazarenkau, Head of Brest Region Branch of Free Trade Union of Belarus, Summonsed to Maskovski Department of Internal Affairs of Brest on 30 March. Just like before, he is accused of having organized an unauthorized gathering in the clothing market of the city during the strike by the Brest businessmen. Later in the day on 30 March the administrative report registering the violation allegedly committed by Mr. Lazarenkau was sent to Maskovski Borough Court of Brest, but Judge Maria Levanchuk refused to review the case following long consultations. The trial over Mr. Lazarenkau may be held on 31 March, reports Radio Liberty.

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Georgian parliament has voiced support of Belarusian political prisoners Mikhail Marynich, Vladimir Levaneuski, Aliaksandr Vasilyeu, and the participants of the protest action on March 25 in Minsk. According to the statement of the committee on foreign relations of Georgian parliament, the committee “expresses serious concern over the arrests of participants of the oppositional meeting in Minsk”, and calls upon the Belarusian government “to respect the fundamental principles of human rights in relation to their citizens, and to release the detainees ass soon as possible”.

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