Eduard Balanchuk
Eduard Balanchuk has been a representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in Molodechno city since 2002. The organisation monitors and documents violations of human rights and provides legal assistance for victims of human rights violations. Eduard Balanchuk documents cases of human rights violations and is an official observer of peaceful assemblies and elections in the Molodechno region.
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.
