Opposition activist Molchan to stand trial on Monday
Andrey Molchan, an activist of an opposition group called European Belarus, will stand trial in Minsk’s Pershamayski District Court on Monday on a charge of “petty hooliganism,” his associate Maksim Vinyarski told BelaPAN.
The young man, arrested by police in the city’s northeastern neighborhood Urucha on the night between July 13 and 14, is currently in the detention center on Akrestsina Street.
Following the arrest, the police found on him stickers calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Belarus, said Mr. Vinyarski.
According to Mr. Molchan’s mother, the activist was beaten after being brought to the Pershamayski district police station, he said.
On July 4, a district judge in Minsk imposed a fine of 800,000 rubels ($96) on Mr. Molchan, who was beaten up by police on May 19 for displaying a white-red-white flag on a city street. The activist was found guilty of acting in violation of regulations governing street demonstrations.
Mr. Molchan was hospitalized after the scuffle with police officers in front of a retail store in Minsk.
A police car arrived at the scene a few minutes after Mr. Molchan unfurled the white-red-whit flag in solidarity with imprisoned opposition activist Syarhey Kavalenka.
"When Molchan asked why he was being arrested, the policemen violently attacked him," reported the European Belarus press office. "As he was being beaten right on the street, another police vehicle arrived. Molchan was handcuffed and shoved into the car."
From the police station, Mr. Molchan was rushed to the Minsk City Emergency Hospital, where he was initially diagnosed with a head injury and a broken jaw. However, his doctor later claimed that his broken jaw was an old injury. The young man was discharged from the hospital on May 25.
