Last month the trials over independent newspapers are taking place every day, Radio Svaboda informs. For instance, yesterday in the Economic Court of Minsk considered a lawsuit filed by administration of Salihorsk state mining and chemical technical school against the editorial office of the newspaper “Narodnaya Volya”. In Barysau the trial over the editor-in-chief of the “Borisovskie Novoisti” Anatol Bukas finished. As before, the attention of the society is focused on the huge fine to the “Narodnaya Volya”, 100 million rubles. This ruling was made this week.

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"I do not know what to do," said the director of a small Belarus textile company. "We, of course, are not state officials. But an order is an order and somehow we`ll have to abide by it." The businessman is worried by Ukaz No. 274. The decree issued earlier this week by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko stipulates those persons authorized to take decisions on sending officials abroad for business trips, and "those persons," states Lukashenko`s press service, "who can be sent on business trips abroad only with the consent of the Head of State".

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Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov deems that the attempts of the US to “export democracy” to the CIS and to indulge non-parliamentary methods of struggle are fraught with destabilization and new conflicts.

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Any student, who participates in protest actions, is to be expelled from university. From today in Belarus new rules for students and pupils adopted. Now they are to choose between freedom of expression and studies. Education Minister of Belarus has signed an order “On measures preventing attempts of engaging schoolchildren and students in illegal activities of political character”.

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“No matter who bans TV channels, it is an antidemocratic move, and I am ashamed that I have supported Belarus when Yushchenko told that the struggle against antidemocratic regime should be started,” told deputy head of the party “Tudovaya Ukraina” Alexandra Kruzhel to ForUm correspondent, commenting on the information that broadcasting of Ukrainian TV channel “Inter-plus” banned in Belarus.

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Mother of Siargey Skrabets visited her son in the Brest investigative isolation ward yesterday. She deems it would be reasonable to let him go home in order to stop the hunger strike. As Radio Liberty reports, this is the first time when Nina Skrabets came to Brest to visit he son Siargey who has been kept in the local investigative isolation ward for 2 months already and has been hunger-striking all this time. Nina Skrabets says her son refrains from ceasing the hunger strike. Under such circumstances the mother of the detained oppositional politician supposes the best way now is to exonerate her son with a recognizance not to leave:

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A statement for the press of Lithuanian Ambassador to Belarus Jonas Paslauskas was distributed Thursday on the occasion of the completion of his diplomatic mission in Minsk. It is stated there that Lithuania is ready to support Belarus in case Belarus being an inseparable part of Europe strives for a closer cooperation with it.

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The order of the department of consumer services of Minsk Executive Committee, signed by the head of the A. Kovsher, has become another confirmation of “inflated” state-run Belarusian newspapers’ readership. In the document, which is distributed to private enterprises of different levels, it is ordered to take steps for mandatory subscription for the newspaper of presidential administration, “Sovetskaya Belorussia”, and the newspaper of Minsk authorities, “Minskiy Kurjer”. Despite of the size of the firm and a number of workers, orally the “request” is to make subscription for several copies of these newspapers, not for one. Such “requests” usually strangely coincide with visits of tax inspection or other bodies. It is required to send confirmation of subscription by fax.

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Alaxandr Lukashenka is methodically preparing for the presidential election planned for 2006 as he tackles all potential threats that might stand in the way of his successive ballot victory. The aim of the measures taken recently by the government is to completely eliminate opposition political parties, independent social organisations and independent media, says Agata Wierzbowska-Miazga of the Warsaw-based Centre for Eastern Studies (euractiv.com).

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Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili yesterday criticized his Belarusian counterpart Alyaksandr Lukashenka, saying the he had no understanding of democracy.

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Former Czech president Vaclav Havel praised the Czech government for its foreign policy and tough stance on totalitarian regimes in an open letter that his office provided to CTK. "I have fresh experiences on the respect that Czech diplomacy has earned because of its position on Cuba, Belarus, Burma and North Korea," Havel wrote in praise of Czech foreign policy.

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Uzbek authorities have deported four Helsinki Human Rights Group activists from Andijan, the Gazeta.ru website reported, citing the organization’s press release Thursday. The police detained the organization’s activists, nationals from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Russia, near Andijan late at night. Elisa Musaeva, the group’s secretary, was among those detained.

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Reporters Without Borders reacted with dismay after a judge in Minsk slapped a 47,000-dollar fine on the country`s leading independent newspaper, Narodnaya Volya, tipping it into probable bankruptcy.

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At least 53 journalists were killed in 2004 while doing their job or for expressing their opinions, the highest annual toll since 1995. Fifteen medias assistants (fixers, drivers, translators, technicians, security staff and others) were also killed.

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Austria is targeting violators of child pornography, The Washington Times reports. In recent days, law enforcers there have been authorized to search 120 locations as part of Operation Predator. The raids, which netted computer discs and other information, were a result of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) probe of the Austrian Internet billing company RegPay, which is located in Minsk, Belarus. Last year, the company was charged with offering credit-card services for dozens of Web sites with child porn, operating such Web sites and laundering money. "Operation Predator draws on ICE`s unique investigative and enforcement authorities to safeguard children from foreign national pedophiles, human traffickers, international sex tourists and individuals who trade in child pornography," ICE spokeswoman Jamie Zuieback said.

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