Minsk: trial of detained participants of Stop Petrol! action

14.20 Aliaksandr Redzkin was fined 525,000 rubles.

13.10 The trials will continue after a break. All defendants are expected to be released in Akrestsin prison (their personal belongings are there) and not in the court room today.

12.40 Alesia Makas was fined 525,000 rubles.

12.30 It became known that four more trials will take place in the Tsentralny District Court of Minsk. Judge Hadanovich will try Alesia Makas and I.Prybylski. Judge Yesman will consider Pavel Hrudzilovich and Alyaksandr Redzkin’s cases.

12.25 Judge Yasinovich fined Dzmitry Kavalhin 700,000 rubles.

12.15 Police witness born in 1981 arrived. He says that they headed for “the place of the unauthorized picket and detained a group of young people who were taking part in it”. The policeman says that the detained had A4 sheets of paper with an image of a filling station and were shouting “shame!”.

12.08 Aliaksandr Redzkin is waiting for the trial in court, being guarded by two people in plain clothes. Redzkin says that he was detained after colonel Yauseyeu had pointed at him. He was simply watching the action together with his wife.

The detained spent the night in the dentition centre in Akrestsin Street.

11.55 A break was announced at court – the policeman who detained people is expected to arrive.

11.45 Kavalhin is accused of picketing with a sheet of paper that contained the symbol of “Stop petrol”. He says that he signed the report only to be allowed to talk to his relatives.

 11.40 Dzmitry Kavalhin, born in 1987, who was shouting “shame” when policemen were detaining people, was taken to court.

According to the Euroradio reporter, it had been planned to conduct all the hearings without the press and relatives. However, Radio Liberty reporter Aleh Hrudzilovich strongly objected to it. The court had to allocate a room for the trial of participants of “Stop Petrol”.

11.25 The trials have not begun yet. According to Euroradio reporter Vital Ruhain, lists with the names of the detained and office numbers appeared in court. However, they simply disappeared a bit later. Journalists and action participants’ relatives do not know if the planned hearings will take place.

11.05 The name of one more detained person has become known. According to Radio Liberty, it is Aliaksandr Redzkin. His wife Yauheniya said in court that they had been watching the “Stop Petrol” action near the bridge across the Svislatch. They saw policemen to detain a girl. Then the commanding officer ordered to detain Aliaksandr too.

10.50 According to Radio Liberty, five participants of the action have been delivered to court. There is a girl among them.

9.45 Participants of the drivers’ protest action are standing trial at the Tsentralny District Court of Minsk. One of the detained, Pavel Hruzdzilovich, informed about it by SMS. He didn’t specify how many detained will be there, informs Radio Liberty.

Pavel Hruzdzilovich was detained on 7 June. He spent the night in the detention centre in Akrestsin Street.

It is also known that a girl with a poster “Stop Petrol” and UCP activist Zmitser Kavalhin were also detained at the action yesterday.