The Observatory has been informed by the Human Rights Centre ‘Viasna’ about the acts of harassment and intimidation against them as reprisals for their work documenting human rights abuses and providing legal assistance to victims amid the ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders and organisations in Belarus.
On February 19, 2021, 85 Members of the European Parliament and ambassadors to Belarus received a fraudulent email from an address named ‘viasna.spring97@gmail.com’ under false pretenses. The email stated that ‘Viasna’ was “seriously concerned about the unprecedented increase in violations of citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in a number of European countries” and called for investigations to take place into other European states, namely France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Poland.
On February 22, ‘Viasna’ officially declared that the emails were fraudulent and had not been sent by the organisation. ‘Viasna’ further pointed out that they considered this attack a “sordid provocation by the Belarusian security forces”.
The Observatory recalls that ‘Viasna’ has been subjected to continuous acts of harassment since August 2020, including the search and raiding of their offices and the ongoing arbitrary detention of its members, namely Maria Rabkova, Leanid Sudalenka, Tatsiana Lasitsa and Maryna Kastylianchanka.
The Observatory strongly condemns the acts of intimidation against ‘Viasna’ as well as the ongoing prosecution of its members. The Observatory urges the Belarusian authorities to immediately cease their harassment of ‘Viasna’, and to immediately and unconditionally release the above-mentioned human rights defenders.
The Observatory further condemns the ongoing persecution of ‘Viasna’ members, as well as of all local human rights groups and human rights defenders who document abuses and provide legal and other assistance to victims in Belarus.
