Activists of the Closed Belarusian Students Association Are Summoned to Prosecutor’s Office
RFE/RL reports, member of the directorate for public prosecutions Viktoria Kukso invites the students by telephone.
Yauhen Ivaniuk says the first phone calls began during the trial over the Young Front activists. Last week twelve people had to visit the prosecutor’s office almost every day. Not everybody agreed to come to the prosecutor’s office without summons. Those, who decided to come, received written warnings from Ms. Kukso. Yauhen Ivaniuk says: “I received a paper which reads: “Minsk city prosecutor’s office has information that you plan to organize and participate in the work of the organization Belarusian Students Association which was closed down in 2001… We officially warn you about an appropriate article of the Criminal Code. If you continue your activities we will prosecute you for participation in an unregistered organization” Most probably, this is an attempt to intimidate all youth organizations which are active in the country. They would hardly manage to do that, young people will continue to carry out different actions any way”.Activists of the shut down students’ organization believe that KGB officers have lists of ыўьу BSA members. The lists could be made by the police after detentions.
“Partnership”, Young Front… Is BSA the next?On December 22 2006 special police forces detained about 20 BSA members during a party at a private apartment and took them to Savetski police department. Several people, including its former chairperson Ales Mikhalevich, were found guilty of disorderly conduct.
On February 10, KGB and police officers detained about 3 dozen activists of the organization when they gathered for a founding meeting in the country.BSA activists do not exclude the possibility that the prosecutor’s office may start a criminal case against some members of the organization in the near future. In this case BSA will become the third organization, after Partnership and Young Front, members of which would be criminally prosecuted for participation in an unregistered organization.
