Regime puts participant of “Process of Fourteen” on list of wanted persons

The activist of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Tatsyana Tsishkevich faces custodial penalty.

The website jeans-by.com with the reference to the leader of the youth organisation of the United Civil Party “Young Democrats” Mikhail Pashkevich has informed that Tatsyana Tsishkevich, who studies in Poland, has been put on the list of wanted persons.

“I was told about that by my investigator Kisel, who is the investigator of the criminal and correctional inspectorate of Frunzenski district of Minsk. Both me and Tatsyana Tsishkevich are registered in that district,” Mikhail Pashkevich informed.

Now Tatsiana Tsishkevich is in Poland, where she studies. The girl is one of the persons involved in the case of fourteen, a criminal case under article 342 of the Criminal Code of Belarus, instigated against participants of a peaceful protest demonstration of entrepreneurs held on January 10, 2008.

For participation in this protest a young activist Andrei Kim was sentenced to a year and a half in a penal colony (he was released in August 2008). An activist of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Alyaksandr Barazenka was sentenced to 1 year of restriction of liberty without sending him to a penal colony. He was kept in remand jail from October 27 to December 9, 2008. Other participants of the Process of Fourteen – Alyaksei Bondar, Artsyom Dubski, Mikhal Kryvau, Mikhal Pashkevich, Ales Straltsou, Ales Charnyshou, Tatsyana Tsishkevich, Mikhail Subach and Paval Vinahradau, were sentenced to 2 years of restriction of freedom without sending them to penitentiary institutions. Minor Maxim Dashuk got 1.5 years of restraint of liberty.

One of the participants of the case, an activist of the “Young Front” Artsyom Dubski, as well as Tatsyana Tsishkevich, left for Ukraine after the court. As a result, when the oppositionist returned to Belarus, he was arrested. The activist stayed in the remand prison for a few months. Now he is waiting for the trial under a written undertaking not to leave the place.

Tatsyana Tsishkeich is not the first oppositionist who has been put on the wanted list by the Belarusian regime. Thus, in January this year an activist of the “Young Front” Syarhei Huminski was put on the list of wanted persons. He studies in Gdansk University thanks to Kastus Kalinouski program. A criminal action has been initiated against him is Belarus for alleged draft evasion.

In December 2008 an activist of “For Freedom” movement from Pinsk Ihar Salavej who visited military registration and enlistment office, found out that he is on the list of wanted persons. Officers of the military registration and enlistment office drew up a report against him under Article 25 part 3 of the Administrative Code of Belarus for not attending the military registration and enlistment office when the activist studies abroad. In the beginning of this year Ihar Salavej was forcibly drafted to the army, though he has a heart problem.