The participants of the Sixth Annual Assembly of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) that is taking place on November 20-21 in Batumi unanimously voted for the resolution “On the support of the human rights defendant Elena Tonkacheva”.

In the adopted document the participants of the EaP CSF declared their fundamental disagreement about the cancellation of the residence permit in the Republic of Belarus and the decision of the Belarusan authorities of November 5, 2014 of expulsion out of the country for 3 years within one-month time Elena Tonkacheva, the well-known human rights activist, chairman of the Legal Transformation Center (Lawtrend).

The representatives of the civil society organizations of the six countries of the Eastern Partnership and the European Union recognized the decision taken by the authorities as politically motivated, totally disproportionate sanction compared to the danger of the offense and condemn actions of authorities aimed at obstructing human rights activities of organizations and citizens.

“We call on the institutions and states of the EU and the Eastern Partnership, other international bodies and institutions to demonstrate principles and insistence on democratic values, human rights and freedoms, to express their position on the decisions of Belarusian authorities, provide necessary support to Elena Tonkacheva and stop the expulsion of human rights activist from Belarus.

We urge the Government of the Republic of Belarus to stop the practice of pressure on civil society organizations, human rights organizations and human rights defenders.

We call on civil society organizations from Eastern Partnership countries to express public support to Elena Tonkacheva and send to the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus requests to cancel the decision to expel Elena Tonkacheva,” is said in the resolution.

Let us recall that the formal ground for cancellation of the residence permit and deportation from the country are camcorder recorded facts of minor speeding by the car belonging to Elena Tonkacheva, without presenting evidence of her driving.