Category: Belarus

DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF FEDERAL OFFICE FOR MIGRATION AND REFUGEES

Conscientious objection is a human right! Everywhere!

ACTION DEDICATED TO THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
DECEMBER 14, SATURDAY, FROM 13:00
90402 NUREMBERG, KORNMARKT

Connection e.V. — on November 1, 2024

More than two and a half years after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees ↷ (BAMF) is still generally not granting asylum to Russian refuseniks. It is not “considerably likely” that they will be called up for the war. These are people who have decided not to take part in the war of aggression, which is against international law. They are now threatened with deportation to Russia, a scandal. There they often face conscription, prison and torture.

The same applies to people from Belarus who have fled from dictatorship and the threat of war in Belarus. And refugees from Ukraine are not (or no longer) safe either: there are voices in German politics calling for male refugees to be sent back – as Norway intends to do in future — because, after all, the country needs soldiers. We are deeply disappointed that the human right to conscientious objection is being trampled on in this way.

The way they are treated is just one example of how refugees and their concerns are treated in Germany. We therefore want to raise our voices in front of the BAMF to mark International Human Rights Day.

Let’s demonstrate loudly and visibly against war and the rejection of refugees!

WAR MEANS DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

Wars are currently being waged in various countries, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, countless often seriously injured people, widespread destruction and the associated transnational exodus. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began more than two and a half years ago. Following the brutal attack by Hamas and the military escalation by the Israeli government, the entire region has become a battlefield. Turkey repeatedly deploys military forces in neighboring states in the Kurdish regions. In Sudan, Yemen and Myanmar, wars are raging that are in no way inferior to the aforementioned wars in terms of the number of victims and cruelty, but which receive less public attention. All these wars are driving countless people to flee their homes, some of them to Europe and Germany.

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PROTECTION FOR BELARUSIAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS VITALI DVARASHYN and MIKITA SVIRYD

Joint Press Release — on July 31, 2024

They are threatened with deportation to Belarus in Lithuania!

Lithuania should protect Belarusian conscientious objectors and deserters, grant them appropriate legal protection, and urgently prevent their deportation to Belarus!

The undersigned organizations are deeply concerned about the threat by Lithuanian authorities to deport Belarusian conscientious objector Vitali Dvarashyn and Belarusian deserter Mikita Sviryd to Belarus. There, they face persecution, imprisonment, and in the case of desertion, the death penalty. We call on the Lithuanian authorities to take immediate action to prevent the deportation of the affected individuals to Belarus and to grant them asylum in Lithuania, where they have sought protection for years.

Belarusian conscientious objector Vitali Dvarashyn, like other Belarusian asylum seekers in Lithuania, was declared a “threat to national security” in 2023 after seven years of residency in Lithuania. Consequently, he was held in solitary confinement in a refugee camp. On May 29, 2024, his asylum request was denied on the grounds that he was not in danger in Belarus. On June 13, 2024, he escaped detention and the risk of immediate deportation, going into hiding out of fear.

Belarusian deserter Mikita Sviryd had his asylum request denied on November 20, 2023. Although he, like Vitali, has filed an appeal, he has not been allowed to present his case in a hearing. This is particularly significant given the reintroduction of the death penalty in Belarus. He is therefore desperately seeking ways to protect his life.

We urge the Lithuanian authorities to urgently prevent the deportation of Vitali Dvarashyn and Mikita Svyrid, as well as all other deserters and conscientious objectors, to Belarus and to grant them adequate protection in Lithuania.

As reported by UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus, Anaïs Marin, during the last session of the UN Human Rights Council, the human rights situation in Belarus is alarming. Belarus is not a safe country for conscientious objectors and deserters. The UN Special Rapporteur also highlighted that “the government [of Belarus] continues to actively support the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.”

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“Adbusting”: Berlin and Helsinki activists demand asylum for conscientious objectors

by DFG-VK Berlin

(11.07.2024) Oops, what are Berlin ad posters doing in Helsinki? And why are they campaigning for asylum for conscientious objectors? The “adbusted” posters are calling for asylum for conscientious objectors from Belarus and Russia. “We are currently in Helsinki to network with antimilitarists from the Baltic Sea region,” reports Roderich Supersonnenwetter, spokesperson for the action group (AfKj!). “So close to the border with Russia, it makes sense to send a signal of solidarity for conscientious objection.” Roderich Supersonnenwetter says: “Asylum for conscientious objectors from Russia and Belarus is a smart way to make it more difficult for Putin to wage his war in Ukraine!”

Continue reading “Adbusting”: Berlin and Helsinki activists demand asylum for conscientious objectors