Posts Tagged ‘Europe’
February 11th, 2010
Police have
seized a Polish cultural centre in the town of Ivyanets outside Minsk.
An activist who was travelling to the centre has also been detained. President Lukashenko claimed in 2005 the organisation responsible for the centre was trying to destabilise his regime and set up a government-approved alternative. Both the
EU and the
US have condemned the actions. There are around 400,000 Poles in Belarus. Belarus has also recently
detained 20 activists demonstrating in support of political prisoners.
February 8th, 2010
Valentin Ceausescu is seeking to ban a play on the trail and execution of the former dictator.
“The Last Hours of Ceausescu“, written by Milo Rau, depicts the 1989 trial and execution of former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife. Valentin’s lawyer said that the plaintiff is seeking to prevent his parents’ names being ridiculed. Valentin registered the
“Ceausescu” trademark two years ago, meaning the name could no longer be used for commercial purposes without his consent.
February 8th, 2010
Web users will be forced to show their
passports or other ID before using Belaruse’s internet cafes from July 1. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s decree also requires ISPs to store data on individuals’ web usage for a year and to hand that information over to law enforcement agencies upon request.
Lutz Guellner, spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, condemned the decree for further restricting free expression in Belarus.
February 3rd, 2009
Dutch MP Geert Wilders has engaged one of the country’s top lawyers to fight a potential prosecution for incitement to hatred.
(more…)
