Regime Continues Repressing Participants of Peaceful Protest Actions

According to RFE/RL

People continue applying to the recently established civil committee on support to the repressed. Every applicant tells his/her story. The majority of the students who have applied to the committee were expelled from state and non-state educational establishments for ‘systematic absenteeism from classes’. Maryia Sviantsitskaia was expelled from the Academy of Internal Affairs and Tamara Rudzko - from the Institute of Parliamentary and Business Activity. About ten lecturers were disemployed from the higher educational establishments of Minsk. Some students stated that had been called to deans’ offices and threatened with problems at exams and distribution for work to Chernobyl zone. Natallia Linitskaia is a fifth year student at the historical department of Belarusian State University. In the dean’s office she was informed that she would be directed to a village for work after graduation instead of being left in Minsk as its citizen. Some students still study, but have been fired from the places where they used to work after classes. After the 15-day’s arrest Siarhei Karbanovich was fired from the restaurant Zhuravinka where he used to work as a barman.

At present the police are also looking for the activists of Kazulin’s electoral headquarter who were detained on 2 March. In the end of March they were detained and imprisoned together with other participants of the peaceful protest. During this time they were tried in absentia and sentenced to other arrest terms. Criminal cases ‘for evasion from military service’ have been brought against the youth activists Mikita Sasim and Mikhail Pankou. Since 11 April Mr Pankou has been kept in a temporary isolator in Minsk. About a dozen of criminal cases have been initiated against activists of other youth organizations. KGB conducts searches and interrogations in Zhodzina, Baranavichy, Minsk, Mahiliou, Babruisk, etc. Despite this, youth continues holding protest actions.