On December 11, Alyaksandr Kazulin, leader of the Belarusian Socialist Democratic Party, former presidential candidate, and former rector of the Belarusian State University, who has been in prison since June 2006, ended the 53-day hunger strike he began on October 20. The hunger strike was an act of protest against Alyaksandr Lukashenka's tenure in power and a demand that the UN Security Council consider the Belarusian problem. Amnesty International has initiated a campaign calling for Kazulin's immediate and unconditional release. The organization believes that Kazulin is a prisoner of conscience, and that his continuing imprisonment is a violation of his rights to assembly, association, and expression. Amnesty asserts that Kazulin is being detained unlawfully following an unfair trial, and the organization is calling for the Belarusian government to conduct full and impartial investigations into reports of ill-treatment Kazulin has suffered on various occasions at the hands of law enforcement officials, and to ensure that he receives full redress. Amnesty believes that the continuing harassment and detention of opposition figures in Belarus is a deliberate attempt by the authorities to intimidate and deter people from exercising their rights. The result is the continued stifling of open, public debate and civil society activity within the country.

Appeals should call for the immediate and unconditional release of Kazulin as a prisoner of conscience; remind the Belarusian authorities of their obligations under Articles 19, 21, and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (to which Belarus is a state party), which guarantee the rights to expression, assembly, and association; urge the Belarusian authorities to stop the harassment and intimidation of civil society activists engaged directly or indirectly in the promotion and defense of human rights in Belarus; and call for full and impartial investigations by the Belarusian authorities into reports of ill-treatment suffered by Alyaksandr Kazulin at the hands of law enforcement officials and to ensure that he receives full redress. Appeals can be sent by fax or by mail to the following individuals: