State register of cinema and video films of Belarusian Ministry of Culture refused to issue a distribution certificate allowing demonstration in Belarus a documentary “Long Way Home… Requiem”, to independent studio “Tatsiana”. The documentary tells about life and creative work of writer Vasil Bykaw. The reason for refusal is that demonstration of the film in Belarus can “negatively influence moral and ethical core of the Belarusian people’s life”.

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Four “Zubr” activists were detained on 9 of April in Minsk and Baranavichi.

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After having served a half of the term prisoner count on commutation of the punishment. After that the case is considered by the court, the prisoner usually is sent to a special settlement with limited freedom of movement. However, this commutation is refused to Yuri Bandazhewski, a world-famous scientist, radiologist, professor. In 2001 head of Homiel medical institute Yuri Bandazhewski and his colleague pro-rector Uladzimir Rawkow were sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment for a bribe allegedly received from university entrants’ parents. The findings of the scientific research by Prof. Bandazhewski and his colleagues, who had been studying affect of radiation on people’s health, disagreed with the state policy in this sphere.

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Reporters Without Borders and the Belarus Association of Journalists (BAJ) voiced shock today at the decision to close the investigation into the disappearance of journalist Dmitri Zavadski although the Council of Europe`s special rapporteur recently spoke of serious suspicions about official involvement in the disappearance and an attempt to cover this up.

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As we have informed before, this Friday the UN Commission on Human Rights is to vote for the project of resolution on situation in Belarus. The project has been proposed by a group of the countries – Great Britain, Spain, Belgium, Hungary, France, Slovakia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Norway, Slovenia, Iceland, Greece, Denmark, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Switzerland, Finland, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Ireland, Sweden, Portugal, Italy, the USA, Canada. It stipulates for denunciation of Belarusian government for violations during election process, for disappearances of authorities’ political opponents and a journalist, pressure on civil society and repressions. We offer the full text of the resolution’s project, received exclusively by the Charter’97 press service.

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