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Belarus Human Rights Situation in Belarus: February 2021

March 03, 2021

In February, at least 102 sentences were handed down, with 49 of those convicted sentenced to terms of imprisonment. There are 258 detained political prisoners. Persecution of journalists continues and pressure on human rights activists has intensified. Of particular concern are the scheduled legislative amendments aimed at strengthening administrative and criminal liability for participating in protests and public criticism of the current political regime.

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Armenia New law on political parties introduces stricter regulation on party financing

March 01, 2021

On 29 December 2020, amendments to Armenia’s Law on Political Parties were passed with widespread consensus following a period of extreme polarization which provide for a substantial increase in public financing of political parties, while increasing the transparency of party donations, prohibiting corporate donations, and decreasing the upper limit for individual donations. The amendments include minimal requirements of internal democracy within the organization of political parties.

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Russia Russia election alert #8 - Duma elections 2021

February 25, 2021

Russia’s next State Duma elections are scheduled to be held in September. A number of recent developments offer a glimpse of how they may be conducted. Early indications are that the authorities will take unprecedented efforts to keep the non-systemic opposition out of the State Duma and to undermine independent election observation.

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EPDE Call for experts on elections in Russia

EPDE is seeking to expand its pool of experts that contribute to EPDE’s publication series on elections and election related topics in Russia. If you are interested in writing short analyses for us or want to collaborate with the EPDE on ongoing research, get in touch!

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EPDE statement EPDE condemns repressions against independent election observers in Belarus and Russia

Citizen election observers in Belarus and Russia are currently facing increasing repressions by the governments in Minsk and Moscow. On 16 February in Belarus, numerous police raids were carried out against human rights defenders and several were detained; in Russia, the government continues to take harsh action against domestic observers, and multiple observers have been detained and prosecuted since January 2021. EPDE calls for an immediate stop to the intimidation of citizen observers!

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Belarus Viasna statement on the unprecedented attack on Belarusian human rights defenders

The Human Rights Center “Viasna” issued an official statement on the police raids conducted yesterday against its members and other human rights defenders and journalists. Viasna states that these acts flagrantly violate international standards relating to the protection of human rights defenders and that assistance to victims of reprisals is increasingly becoming a reason for criminal proceedings against Belarusians defending human rights.

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Belarus Journalists and human rights defenders under attack

At least 25 human rights defenders, mostly working with the Belarusian Association of Journalists and the Human Rights Center “Viasna”, have been either detained or targeted in police raids this morning. Several offices were searched, both in Minsk and across Belarus, including Viasna’s office in Minsk.

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Belarus Hands off Marfa, hands off Viasna, hands off human rights defenders!

Since May 2020, 18 members of EPDE member organization the Human Rights Center “Viasna” have experienced pressure and harassment, including administrative arrests, for their active human rights work. Four members of the organization and volunteers are currently in pre-trial detention. New charges have been brought against previously detained Viasna member Marfa Rabkova to prolong her pre-trial detention. EPDE calls for their immediate release from arbitrary detention!

more ... Hands off Marfa, hands off Viasna, hands off human rights defenders!

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