Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted an appeal to the HRC villager brawlers Vitebsk region Leonid Zdrestov. Activist was forced to appeal to the international body for protection after authorities denied him permission to hold a rally, and all courts in which he was trying to appeal this denial - from the October district court of Vitebsk to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus - have sided authorities.

The purpose of the picket, which is a result of the ban by the authorities Leonid Zdrestov never spent: informing residents of Vitebsk region of systematic violations of state bodies and organizations of the Republic of Belarus of his rights and legitimate interests. The picket was banned deputy head of administration of October district of Vitebsk Victor Galanov on the grounds that the organizers of the rally has not concluded agreements with the service utilities, police and health center, thereby fulfilling the requirements of the Vitebsk City Council decision number 881 of 10 July 2009 "On Mass Events in Vitebsk".

It should be noted that would engage the picket only one person. Leonid Zdrestov convinced that a single picket in its practical and legal sense can not be considered a massive undertaking, so his refusal to hold shares on the basis of the law on mass events - is nonsense. Nevertheless Belarusian courts heard this argument.

Leonid Zdrestov - not the first resident of the Vitebsk region, which local authorities have banned the rally, which was unable to defend their rights in the courts and which eventually turned to the UN Committee on Human Rights. Typically, in such cases the HRC support applicants and recognizes that the authorities have violated their right to impart information and public expression of their views. In its decisions on such matters HRC drew the authorities' attention to the need to take measures to prevent such violations of human rights in the future.

However, in the offices of Belarusian superiors to pay attention to the HRC decision in no hurry. Vitebsk city executive committee decision, citing that for nearly five years, local authorities have not allowed in Vitebsk any shares of the opposition and civil society activists, repeal seems no one is going. Nobody is going to change anything in the law "On Mass Events", which entitles local authorities on their own to prohibit citizens hold peaceful actions and publicly express their opinions, which is incompatible with the principles of democracy.