Human Rights Center "Spring"

In 1997, the Vesna human rights center was registered as the Minsk City Organization (under the name Vesna-96). In 1999 - as a republican human rights public association.

In October 2003, the center was liquidated by a decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus. The reason for the liquidation was the participation of members in the observation of the 2001 presidential election .

On March 6, 2004, Vesna Center was admitted to the International Federation of Human Rights .

On June 24, 2007, the UN Human Rights Committee recognized that, by eliminating the Vesna human rights center, the Belarusian authorities violated article 22, paragraph 1 , of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . However, in Minsk itself, this decision was ignored ^[1] , expressing the opinion that the UN HRC considerations are only advisory ^[2] .

Attempts to register “Spring” anew were unsuccessful ^[3] . All three refusals of registration were also recognized by the decision of the UN HRC as a violation by Belarus of article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. After the third refusal to register, members of the Council of the organization announced the cessation of further registration attempts in view of their meaninglessness and the continuation of activities without state registration.

In 2011, the Prosecutor General’s Office, signed by the Prosecutor General Grigory Vasilevich, issued a warning to Vesna Chairman A. Belyatsky about the inadmissibility of carrying out activities on behalf of an unregistered organization and about possible criminal prosecution under Art. 193.1 of the Criminal Code of Belarus if such activities continue. The judgment was appealed against by him, but upheld by the district court in June 2011 ^[4] . The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights T. Hammarberg mentioned in his statement about the persecution of human rights defenders in Belarus a search in the premises of Vesna and statements by officials aimed at A. Bialiatski ^[5] . The organization in the same year received a symbolic Freedom Award from the Atlantic Council of the United States ^[6] . There is also a check at the organization’s office for explosives ^[7] .

On August 4, 2011, searches were conducted in the house of the human rights activist and the head of the Vyasna Human Rights Center Ales Bialiatski, and the office of the Vyasna human rights center. Ales Bialiatski, vice president of the International Federation of Human Rights, was detained in Minsk. After lunch, near the Minsk office, the human rights center Viasna, suspicious people in civilian clothes began to gather. Vesna employees left their office before the “guests” arrived, and there was nobody in the room. According to human rights activist Andrei Sushko, two cars with civilians were standing in the yards, and a local police officer was sitting on the bench at the entrance.

A house of the chairman of Viasna Ales Bialiatski was searched. Bialiatski himself was detained near the apartment on Victory Square (in custody since August 4, 2011). At the time of the search, only his wife was present in the house.

A search of the apartment and office was ordered by the Department of Financial Investigations. The search in the apartment began at 17:30. Near the office there were 5 people on duty - employees of the KGB and the Financial Investigations Department of the State Control Committee, who were waiting for the arrival of Bialiatski himself to conduct a search in the office ^[8] .

The journalist and the head of the Belarusian Free Theater Nikolay Khalezin commented on the information about the searches in the human rights center:

Today, the Spring Human Rights Center is the most effective of the Belarusian human rights organizations. It was the structure of Ales Bialiatski on his shoulders that pulled out the defense in the courts of those convicted of the December 19 case, convincing lawyers to deal with these complex and risky cases. It was she who organized the collection of the lion's share of financial funds to support the repressed and their families. You can make many claims of this organization, like any other living structure working in conditions of unfreedom, but, in fact, they are the best today. And that is why the main blow aimed at knocking out one of the pillars supporting the Belarusian resistance is aimed at them today. ... Now, not only Ales Bialiatski and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” are under attack, but also a number of Belarusian independent public organizations and public figures ^[9] .

On August 8, PACE rapporteur on Belarus A. Herkel regarded the arrest of Bialiatski as another example of intimidation of civil society ^[10] .

On July 6, 2012, the Partizansky district court of Minsk decided to confiscate the Minsk office and part of the property of the Viasna human rights center. According to one of the office employees, Valentin Stefanovich, the confiscation of the office is carried out on the grounds that Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to imprisonment with confiscation of property, and the apartment where the office is located is registered in his private property ^[11] .

On November 26, 2012, a year after Ales Bialiatski was convicted (in whose apartment the office of the center unregistered in the republic was located), the state confiscated the office of the Vesna center, and human rights activists were forced to leave it. During the existence of this office, thousands of citizens visited it, who received legal assistance from the center, raised funds to support political prisoners, held press conferences, trainings and seminars. Employees of the organization temporarily moved their place of work to the office of the movement “For Freedom”. Before moving out of the office, November 24-25, in Lithuania, a general meeting of Vesna activists was held, which was attended by representatives of all regional branches of the organization and the central office ^[12] .

Since 2012, the day of the arrest of Ales Bialiatski in a number of countries was celebrated by some participants as the International Day of Solidarity with the Civil Society of Belarus ^[13] .

June 21, 2014 Ales Bialiatski was released ahead of schedule ^[14] .

• Official site of the Human Rights Center "Spring"
• UN Human Rights Committee Considerations in the Case of Bialiatski and Others v. Belarus
• Human Rights Center Viasna: 15 Years of Persecution