Young man linked to online anti-government campaign appeals jail term

Ivan Stasyuk, an opposition young man linked to an online campaign called "Revolution through Social Networks," has filed an appeal against his jail sentence with the Brest Regional Court.

On June 16, a judge of the Maskowski District Court in Brest sentenced Mr. Stasyuk to 10 days in jail, finding him guilty of disobeying police officers and using obscene language.

Mr. Stasyuk was arrested in the street in Brest late on June 14. He spent the night at the Maskowski district police station and was charged the following afternoon with disobeying police officers. Later in the day, he was charged with uttering obscenities at the police officers who accompanied him to the courthouse.

His arrest came ahead of so-called silent protests staged across the country within the framework of the online campaign.

In his appeal, Mr. Stasyuk accuses the police of fabricating the case against him and giving false evidence at his trial.

According to Mr. Stasyuk, the judge for no good reason rejected his motion for footage from surveillance cameras at the Maskowski district police station to be showed in court.

Mr. Stasyuk says that he was punished in retaliation for his dissident views.

On June 13, police searched Mr. Stasyuk’s home, claiming that they suspected the young opposition activist of involvement in a fire attack on the House of Justice in Minsk.

Mr. Stasyuk told BelaPAN that he was sure that the sole purpose of the search was to seize his computer equipment.

Mr. Stasyuk, a member of an opposition youth group called Malady Front, came to the attention of the authorities earlier this month over the online campaign to organize silent protests.

On the night between June 3 and 4, KGB officers picked up Mr. Stasyuk when he was getting off a Warsaw-Brest train in Brest, drove him to their office and questioned him about his online activities. On June 8, Mr. Stasyuk's mother was questioned at the local KGB office. The officers told the woman that Mr. Stasyuk had instigated unsanctioned protests and might be charged with the "organization and preparation of actions that are in gross violation of the public order or active participation in them" under Part One of the Criminal Code's Article 342, which provides for a maximum penalty of three years in prison.