Aleh Surhan sentenced to six months of arrest
On 19 February, the Kastrychnitski district court in Vitsebsk sentenced Aleh Surhan, 47, to six month of arrest and obliged him to pay 2.5 million rubles as compensation to the alleged victim, policeman Siarhei Dudkevich. The arrest term is calculated from 27 January, the day when Surhan was detained.
Today Aleh Surhan had his last plea. He stated that the reason for the criminal persecution is that he hanged out a white-red-white flag. After this, the judge said he needed just five minutes to read the verdict. The present people expressed their indignation at it and said that it was a violation of all possible judicial norms.
Bear in mind, Aleh Surhan was tried for an assault on policeman Dudkevich who states that the defendant bit his finger during the detention for hanging out a white-red-white flag. The trial of Mr. Surhan lasted for about two months. During all this time the defendant was kept in the pre-trial prison.
Lieutenant Dudkevich demanded from the defendant 10 million rubles as he ‘could catch hepatitis as a result of the bite’. Aleh Surhan refutes the policeman’s testimony and says he was beaten in the police car. As soon as he complained to the procuracy about it, policeman Dudkevich stated about the assault.
At court, Mr. Surhan repeated his testimony and added that the police report composed on him for hanging out the white-red-white flag, ‘disappeared’ from his case.
