New officer will investigate Siarhei Skrabiets' case

This is the information provided to Radio Liberty on 20 June by Andrei Livanau, an investigator of Brest procurator's office. According to him, this is because the republic procurator's office required the former deputy's case.

The investigator Livanau says that now he does not have information that the ex-deputy has started withdrawing from the hunger-strike started at the time of imprisonment on 15 May. Ivonka Survila, chair of the Council of the Belarusian People's Republic, called on Siarhei Skrabiets to stop the hunger-strike. A similar appeal was also made by the leadership of the United Civil Party.

The investigating body believes that the former deputy urged a Biaroza resident to give a bribe of 30 thousand dollars to the officers of the Brest procurator's office and regional court so that they would help with a not-guilty verdict for Hryb, a resident of Alshany, Pinsk District. Later on he was convicted for 24 years in prison for grievous felonies. The relatives of Siarhei Skrabiets' wife live in this village.

In summer 2004 Siarhei Skrabiets took part in a hunger-strike of deputies that demanded democratization of the election law. Last year in October he addressed the president of Russia, asking for political asylum, but received denial. This year in April the Belarusian TV Company showed an episode, where they claimed that special service agents detained a courier who had been taking 200 thousand dollars from Vilnius, allegedly to finance the political activity of Siarhei Skrabiets.