Police Detain Young People for Political Prisoners’ Portraits

Svetlahorsk residents Natallia Bordak and Arseni Yahorchanka, 17, were detained by police on suspicion of hanging out the portraits of political prisoner Alexander Kazulin, reports belngo.info. According to Arseni, he was beaten up by the police officer Yauhen Kisliakou. Natallia Bordak underwent a person search without search witnesses.

Ms. Bordak says, she met Arseni Yagorchanka several days ago not far from her house. Natallia Bordak is a public activist, mother of three children, and a poet (a collection of her verses has just been prepared for issuing). Arseni helps her with preparing the verses for publishing. They talked standing outside the house, by the wall with a portrait of Alexander Kazulin, former candidate for presidency, sentenced for a 5.5-year term for political reasons. “At that moment two policemen appeared, -- Natallia explains. -- When we started walking away, one of them made a photo of a portrait with his cell-phone and then they ran after us without saying a word. Police officer Yauhen Fey caught me by the arm and forced me to follow him to the police department“

“Sergeant Kisliakou ran up to me and hurt me on the ribs with his fist, -- Arseni Yahorchanka says. -- Then a vehicle with other policemen arrived. They searched my pockets and didn’t find anything of interest. Then they took away my cell-phone and a key ring. They pulled me into the car and took to the district police department. No report of the search and withdrawal of my properties was made.

The second search of Yahorchanka and a search of Bordak were done at the police department. Besides, the search of Bordak was made, according to her, without search witnesses though their presence in such cases is required by the law. Though nothing special was found and Yahorchanka’s things were returned to him the people had been detained at the police department for around two hours. Both were requested to explain in writing what they had been doing near Kazulin’s portrait.

Natallia Bordak and Arseni Yahorchanka were detained, however, as far as the appropriate report was not made, they had been detained illegally. Yahorchanka applied to a clinic for medical examination. They also applied to the office of public prosecutor with a request to check the lawfulness of the police officers’ actions.