Human rights defenders and journalists tried at Frunzenski District Court of Minsk
Trials over civil activists from Hrodna and Vitsebsk
(Aleh Barshcheuski, Volha Karach, Pavel Levinau, and Pavel Staneuski) were held
at the Frunzenski District Court of Minsk on 20 April.
All of them were detained on 19 April (in the apartment of the daughter of a
well-known journalist and human rights defender Valery Shchukin in Minsk) and charged with
disorderly conduct (the use of obscene language in public). Volha Karach was
beaten at the police station – a police officer hit her in the face three
times. All detainees were taken to the delinquents' isolation center in Akrestsin Street
for the night.
During the detention Pavel Levinau was told that he was detained on suspicion
in involvement with the terrorist act in the Minsk metro. However, later they changed the
charges to Article 17.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (disorderly
conduct).
At 11.30 a.m.
Judge Tatsiana Shumskaya declined Volha Karach's motion for interrogation of
her witnesses. She is charged with the use of obscene language in Serdzich Street and
insubordination to lawful demands of the police. A senior inspector of the
Frunzenski District Police Department of Minsk, Aliaksei Kavaleuski, participates
in the trial as witness of the accusation.
11.40. the tiral of Pavel Staneuski starts in another room. Pavel Levinau is
kept in a police car outdoors.
11.50. Volha Karach challenges Judge Shumskaya. She said that she had been
detained with the use of physical violence and handcuffs.
12.10. During the trial of Aleh Barshcheuski his witnesses were allowed to
testify and refuted the assertions of the police witnesses. Mr. Barshcheuski
also stated that he hadn't signed the detention report – somebody had forged
the signature (RFE/RL).
1.40 p.m. Aleh Barhsheuski was sentenced to 10 days of arrest. Volha Karach was
fined 700,000 rubles (about $225).
1.40. Judge Volha Komar announced a break in the trial of Pavel Staneuski. She
will also try Pavel Levinau.
2.35. The trial of Pavel Staneuski resumed.
3.30 “Police witness” Kavaleuski gets confused with the time of the detention
of Staneuski and his taking to the police department. According to the documents,
he detained both Staneuski and Barshcheuski at 12.40 p.m. Besides, according to
the case materials, Staneuski started swearing after the detention, whereas
according to the “witness” he used four-letter words for 50 seconds before it.
4.00. Another break was announced in the trial of Pavel Staneuski. Judge Komar
questioned the witnesses of the accusation, whose testimonies contradicted to
the detention reports.
4.50 Pavel Staneuski and his counsel took floor. Both of them stated that the
case should be dropped because of the absence of the corpus delicti.
5.15 Judge Volha Komar stopped the trial of Pavel Staneuski and returned the
case materials to the Frunzenski District Police Department, for revising. Mr.
Staneuski was set free. The human rights defender Valiantsin Stefanovich monitored
the trial. He thinks that the case was to have been dropped at all, as far as
testimonies of the police in many respects contradict to the detention reports.
5.50 As far as the human rights defender Pavel Levinau
moved for admitting his counsel to the trial, the judge postponed the trial to 10 a.m. on 21 April. The
counsel will come to Minsk
from Vitsebsk. Mr. Levinau was sent back to the delinquents’ isolation center
in Akrestsin Street
for the night.
