New rector of International Institute MITSO expels participant of silent protests

Valiantsin Fiadziuk, fourth-year student of the International Institute MITSO (higher educational establishment of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Belarus) was expelled for participation in a silent protest action. The order for his expulsion was signed by the new rector, Stanislau Kniazeu.

The formal reasons for the expulsion are: absenteeism from classes, violation of the rules of the student dormitory and disorderly conduct. It's quite interesting that the admonition for missing classes was issued to the student a year ago, on 7 October 2010. Petty violations of the dormitory rules were also committed in October 2010. By the way, the hardest punishment for such violations can be eviction from the dormitory, not expulsion from the educational establishment. The student wasn't evicted, though.

We should consider the third reason, “disorderly conduct”, more attentively. Valiantsin Fiadziuk was detained on 29 June 2011 (the expulsion order provides a wrong date, 9 June) at the central square of Salihorsk, during a silent protest action. He was detained to the Salihorsk District Police Department together with the whole family of Shylas. As a result, almost the whole family was imprisoned, and Fiadziuk was fined 175,000 rubles.

The previous rector didn't expel the student for this incident, he just asked for written explanations. The university administration doesn't hide the fact that the real reason for Fiadziuk's expulsion is his participation in the silent protest action. The activist intends to appeal against his expulsion at court.

We should also provide some details of Stanislau Kniazeu. He was born in Novosibirsk, graduated from the Academy of Security (the higher educational establishment of the KGB). He has the rank of major general. Earlier he headed the Military Counter-intelligence Bureau of the Belarusian KGB and the National Security Institute of the KGB. In the beginning of the 2000-ies he was the deputy state secretary of the Security Soviet of the Republic of Belarus and the first deputy head of the Presidential Administration. Since 2003 he also headed the Academy of Management of the President of the Republic of Belarus.