Index on Censorship published a statement in support of Elena Tonkacheva

The open letter is addressed to the Belarus Ambassador to the UK and Ireland, Belarus President, Belarusan Minister of Internal Affairs, and Pershamaiski district Internal Affairs Department in Minsk.

Index on Censorship is “alarmed by the news that a well-known human rights defender, Elena Tonkacheva, has had her permit to reside in Belarus canceled and may be deported from the country”, says the statement published at the official webpage of the international organisation that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression.

“Elena Tonkacheva… for years has been engaged in educational, analytical and research work in the field of human rights, – the statement goes. – Tonkacheva is a highly qualified expert in law and human rights; the organisation headed by her is one of the leading human rights NGOs in Belarus”.

Let us recall that on 30 October 2014, Tonkacheva was notified about the cancelation of her residence permit and on 5 November 2014 a decision will be made as to whether she is to be deported from Belarus. The formal reason for that are administrative breaches, i.e. insignificantly exceeding speed limit when driving.

Index on Censorship states that “the disproportionate measures used by the Belarusan authorities in this case give grounds to believe that these minor breaches are used solely as a pretext to punish Tonkacheva for her principled position and long-term human rights work and either to stop or create considerable obstacles in her human rights activities”.

Summing up all the above mentioned, the statement calls upon the Belarusan authorities to repeal the decision to cancel Tonkacheva’s residence permit and not to deport her from Belarus as well as “take effective measures to protect human rights defenders and provide them with a possibility to carry out their human rights activities without any obstacles”.