Date Type Case No Country Mandate(s) Summary of the allegation transmitted BLR 2/2012 21/05/2012 Belarus JAL Freedom of expression; Freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Human rights defenders; Independence of judges and lawyers; Alleged imposition of travel bans on, due process violations against and sentencing of human rights defenders. According to the information received, on 13 February 2011, the Minsk City Court dismissed Mr. Valiantsin Stefanovich‟s appeal, upholding an order to pay a fine of 53 million roubles for “non-payment or incomplete payment of taxes”. Mr. Stefanovich is the Vice-Chairman of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”. On 24 January 2012, the Minsk City Court reportedly dismissed the appeal of Ales Bialiatski, Chairman of “Viasna” and FIDH VicePresident, upholding the sentence of four and a half years imprisonment and fines totalling 757 million roubles for “tax evasion on a large scale”. It is alleged that these criminal cases were politically motivated. Reportedly, Mr. Aleh Volchek, Head of Legal Aid to the Population, was sentenced to four days of administrative detention on 30 January for “petty hooliganism” after his organisation had published a report on the trial of Mr. Bialiatski. In March 2012, Ms. Zhanna Litvina, chairperson of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), and Messrs. Valiantsin Stefanovich, Aleh Hulak, member of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), Andrey Dynko, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper “Nasha Niva”, and Harry Pahanyayla, chairman of the Legal Commission of the BHC, were all allegedly denied permission to leave the country. Viasna, the BHC, the BAJ and Nasha Niva were among the subjects of an earlier communication (see A/HRC/19/44, case no BLR 7/2011). BDI 1/2012 21/05/2012 Burundi JUA Freedom of expression; Human rights defenders; Summary executions; Allégations de menaces de mort à l‟encontre d‟un journaliste des droits humains. Selon les informations reçues, M. Bob Rugurika aurait reçu des menaces provenant de hauts fonctionnaires du Service National des Renseignements (SNR) et de la police. M. Rugurika est le rédacteur en chef de la Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), une station de radio privée diffusant des reportages sur des questions relatives aux droits de l‟homme au Burundi. Le 2 mars 2012, des officiers auraient appelé M. Rugurika pour lui dire que le directeur du SNR était «très en colère» contre lui suite à ses reportages. Le 7 mars, ils auraient rappelé et averti: «Rappelle-toi que tu es jeune et que tu as besoin de voir vivre ta femme et ton enfant». Peu de temps après, entre le 27 et le 30 mars, deux jeunes individus non identifiés auraient circulé jour et nuit à proximité de la maison familiale de Bob Rugurika afin de surveiller les faits et gestes de celui-ci. Reply A/HRC/21/49 47