The Helsinki Committee has been Given Several Days for Eviction :: Charter'97 :: News

The chief household- management department of the administrative service of the president of Belarus gave several days to the Belarusian Helsinki Committee for vacating their office at 68 Minsk, Libknehta street. “The chief household - management department has informed us that we are given the time for relocation until this weekend. We, in our turn, have applied to the chief household- management department for concluding another contract for renting the same premises and are considering other opportunities for regular Committee’s functioning but the chief household- management department doesn’t provide any other premises for us. It is hard to guess, how we shall find another office because under present conditions it is next to impossible for the human-rights organization to find the shelter in Belarus. In case we fail, we shall be forced to work at home, but then we shall face the registration deprivation because of the absence of any domicile,” reported Aleg Gulak, deputy chairman of the Helsinki Committee, to the press-center of the Charter’97.

The human-rights defender does not exclude the possibility of appealing the court decision on terminate the contract on renting the office by the human rights organization.

At present the Helsinki Committee members are still afraid that since January 29 they would not be let into the office.

It is to be mentioned, that the chief household - management department of the administrative service of the president of Belarus notified the Belarusian Helsinki Committee about termination of the contract on renting the office and delivered the order for its vacating until January 20, 2007. The headquarters of the BHC had been registered in this office (apartment 1201) since 1998 .The public reception for rendering legal assistance to the population was also located there. All attempts of the BHC to retain the office and domicile in that administrative building failed. As per the corresponding law, the domicile cancellation, consequently, causes liquidation of the public organization.