Night assault on "European Belarus" activist Yuliya Stsiapanava

At about 1 a.m. on 14 January two unidentified people assaulted an activist of the "European Belarus" Yuliya Stsiapanava. They threw her in snow and cut her hair.

Yuliya's friend Volha Nikalajchyk wrote about it in her Facebook account. The assault took place near her house when the girl was going home from the bus stop. The strangers used obscene insults, commenting on her political views. They also smashed her lip.

Yu. Stsiapanava commented on the night assault to ERB: "I was going home. Two of them went out from round the corner. One of them seized me by the hands and the other cut my hair very short. Then they threw me in a snowdrift. They threatened me and demanded that I stop gathering aid for victims of political repressions, which I have been doing with the assistance of social networks.

Yuliya Stsiapanava received anonymous threats before the assault. She believes it was from security services. Her Facebook account has been repeatedly hacked and threat letters have been thrown into her postbox.