Counsel Hrabouski: verdict to Yakavenka was copied from prosecutor's ruling
On 9 June, lawyer Yauhen Hrabouski familiarized with a copy of the verdict to his client, conscientious objector Yauhen Yakavenka, who has been recently punished by the Tsentralny District Court of Homel with 1 year of personal restraint with direction to an open penitentiary institution.
Commenting on the document, Mr. Hrabouski stated that the verdict practically repeats the prosecutor's ruling for presenting charges to Mr. Yakavenka, and doesn't contain any new arguments. The lawyer is convinced in the absence of objective or subjective traits of a crime in the actions of the draftee, that's why he prepares a cassation complaint against the verdict of the Tsentralny District Court of Homel.
Bear in mind that on 28 May the Deputy Prosecutor of the Tsentralny District of Homel, Uladzimir Yemialyanchanka, demanded that the activist be punished with 3 months of arrest. On 4 June, Judge Tatsiana Shvets pronounced a surprisingly hard sentence to the defendant, finding him guilty of draft dodging. The judge ruled that the oral notification of Mr.Yakavenka about his drafting by officers of the military enlistment office was legal. Yauhen Yakavenka, in his turn, just demanded from them to issue him with a writ in the Belarusian language.
The same day, on 4 June, the Human Rights Center Viasna informed Amnesty International about the verdict to Yauhen Yakavenka, and the Belarusian Christian Democracy started collecting signatures under the open letter in support of the convict.
