Siarhei Trukhanovich fined 1 mln rubles

On 11 May the hearing of the administrative case of activist Ihar Trukhanovich was held in the Tsentralny District Court in Minsk.

The judge sentenced him to a fine of 10 basic values – 1 mln Belarusian rubles, RFE/RL reports.

Together with other viewers, Igar was detained during the concert in support of the initiative “Food Instead of Bombs” held in the House of Culture of the Tractor Factory on 24 March. The police beat Igar up and accused him of hooliganism. The examination of the case began on 11 April and was postponed several times.

On 24 March, after the detention, Trukhanovich was taken to the emergency hospital where he was diagnosed with a closed traumatic brain injury and a concussion.

“Riot policemen burst in, and one of them hit me in the eyes with his metal glove, so I hit back of the head, too. They didn’t explain why we were detained. They just led us out, threw in the bus and drove to the Tsantralny District Poice Department where we were forced to remain standing with hands on our heads for about two hours. Then they demanded explanations on some strange case. The police started to beat me, put me on my knees, hit my head against the wall,” the activist said.

Ihar said that he agreed to sign the protocol of the interrogation under physical pressure. According to the activist, they hit him in the head when he asked why some of his belongings were not included to the search protocol.

“At that moment two more policemen joined to the one who hit me, and then all of them were beating me up. After that, when I asked something, policeman Holub hit me in the face and said – be sure, you’ll get more. I was taken to the detention center in Akrestsin Street. My health condition deteriorated since I had been hit, my brow was split, and I had a headache. In the police department, I got very nauseous, but they refused to help me,” Trukhanovich said.

Nobody called ER until Ihar was in the jail in Akrestsin Street. The doctors said that he should be taken to hospital, but first he was taken back to the police department, and only then to the hospital.

”In the hospital I was diagnosed with a closed traumatic brain injury and a contusion. They even found blood in my urine, which indicates problems with kidneys caused by the assaults. I also had several haematomas where they hit me with batons, feet and fists, and everything is registered in my medical card.”

After Ihar Trukhanovich had spent three and a half weeks in hospital, the examination of the administrative case began. Today the policemen, who insisted that Ihar had breached the public order by waving his arms and swearing, were interrogated. The policemen said that they hadn’t assaulted anyone. Ihar Trukhanovich’s lawyer said that his defendant’s guilt wasn’t proved and that the case should be closed.

On 24 March, the police detained more than 100 viewers of the concert in support of the initiative “Food Instead of Bombs”. Many of them were assaulted. Most of the detained were released without detention protocols, after fingerprints and photos were taken.