BCD activists detained in Vitsebsk, charged with disorderly conduct

Stanislau Laurenau and Aliaksei Kishchuk, activists of the Belarusian Christian Democracy detained in Vitsebsk this morning, are accused of disorderly conduct – "using obscene language in a public place." The detention took place at about 11 am, but the trial of the detainees has not yet taken place. Both the activists were placed in the detention center for at least overnight.

Traffic police stopped the car driven by Stanislau Laurenau, but for some reason began to check the papers of Aliaksei Kishchuk as well. He did not have a passport, and the activist was taken to the police station to check his identity. However, the policemen charged both with allegedly "swearing" and Stanislau Laurenau with allegedly failing to obey the policemen’s orders.

"Nothing of the sort happened in reality. We were going to buy a present for a friend's birthday. The car was stopped and they started checking our documents. Then he went to the department together with the policemen, and I was taken separately. We were held there for over three hours, then we were taken to the court to be tried for hooliganism. But there was no trial, and we were taken to the detention center, and no one says why we are keep here," said Aliaksei Kishchuk.