Anatoly Poplavnyi
Anatoly Poplavnyi is a member of the Gomel branch of The Human Rights Centre 'Viasna’, which works to promote human rights and provides practical assistance to civic initiatives for the legal defense of citizens. It also conducts research into the state of civil society and legal defense in Belarus.
After the wave of violence that followed the presidential election of December 2010, the human rights situation in Belarus deteriorated rapidly and remains poor after the crackdown. Human rights defenders (HRDs) are subjected to intimidation and harassment, including judicial harassment, restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly, movement, arbitrary detention and ill-treatment. In the lead up to the 2015 presidential elections, 6 political prisoners, including President Lukashenko's main rival, were pardoned.
Human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are systematically denied registration, while the Criminal Code criminalises members of non-registered groups. Furthermore, legislative amendments passed in 2011 made it illegal for NGOs to hold funds abroad and established criminal liability for receiving foreign grants or donations “in violation of the Belarusian legislation”.
