Youth activist forced to join army
Ihar Salavei, an activist of the For Freedom movement, is going to join the army in spite of a heart problem, says www.milinkevich.org.
The activist says his political activities are well-known to the military registration and enlistment office.
This seems to be another case when a young activist is forced to join the army despite objective reasons for draft deferment or ineligibility for military service.
Belarusian human rights experts say the country ‘witnesses a revival of the practice when military service is used as a means of isolation and harassment of civil and political activists’.
A statement issued by the Human Rights Center Viasna names a dozen youth activists as victims of the intimidation campaign, including Zmitser Zhaleznichenka, Ales Kalita and Franak Viachorka.
