Svyatlana Zavadskaya: “Authorities fear issue of forced disappearances”

The Maskouski district court of Minsk dismissed a complaint of Svyatlana Zavadskaya against unjust acts of Mikhail Titsyankou, deputy head of the Minsk city executive committee, who banned holding a picket on 7 May, at the anniversary of disappearance of former minister of internal affaires of Belarus Yury Zakharanka.
The aim of the picket was to be attracting of public attention to demand of real investigation of disappeared public figures in Belarus, and demands to adopt and ratify of the Republic of Belarus The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, “Narodnaya Volya” newspaper reminds.
– I wasn’t surprised by this decision, I was ready for it, – Svyatlana Zavadskaya said. – The Belarusian authorities fear the issue of enforced disappearance. They have done and do their best to ban holding of peaceful actions by all means for the portraits of missing people not to be shown near buildings of state institutions, the National Assembly building, Presidential Administration. Moreover, they shamelessly violate the rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.
I’m not going to stop here and I will appeal against the decision of judge Alena Charnyak in higher court. Moreover, I have filed another application to the Minsk city executive committee for holding a picket at the anniversary of disappearance of Zmitser Zavadski on 7 July 2008 near the City Hall on Freedom square.