Mr. Ales Bialiatski,vice-president of FIDH
On December 10, 2008 in Minsk, Hrodna and Mahiliou,
Belarus, human rights activists were arrested and arbitrarily detained for
distributing copies of - and brochures on - the Universal Declaration:
– In Minsk, six persons were detained: Mr. Ales
Bialiatski,vice-president of FIDH, Mr. Uladzimir
Labkovich, Mr. Aleh Matskevich, Ms. Maryna
Statkevch, Mr. Siarzhuk Sys and Ms. Iryna Toustsik.
– In Hrodna, the police detained Messrs. Aleh Kalinkou, Uladzimir
Khilmanovich and Viktar Sazonau. They were released a few hours later,
after the police asked them to produce written explanations and asserted that
they would decide at a later date whether to draft any violation reports
against them.
– In Mahiliou, Messrs. Alexander Karaliou and Alexander
Padalian were also subjected to arbitrary detention and subsequently
released.