Pavel Levinau demands change of restraint for Haidukou

Vitsebsk human rights activist addressed such a request to a judge of the Vitsensk Regional Court Halina Urbanovich, who leads the trial on the "espionage case". Pavel Levinau also filed a complaint to the Investigative Committee and applied to the head of the Vitsebsk Regional Court Miakali Khamichonak concerning the noticed violations.

Pavel Levinau tried to get an appointment with the head of the court on 12 June, but Mikalai Khamichonak was away on a mission. The audience took place on 13 June.

"I showed Mr. Hamichenka the monitoring of violations for 12 June. The head of the court said he regretted about his absence and agreed with some of my remarks. In particular, the closed character of the trial over Haidukou was to have been announced properly: there was no information that the case would be considered in a closed session. That's why some trouble occured: some court officials even said they were ready to admit all interested people to the trial, as far as it was open. In fact, it was closed, and I advised Mr. Khamichonak to hang out somewhere near the court schedule a written explanation why it was necessary to close a trial of a great public intrerest. I also told how rudely the policemen who guarded the building behaved."

Mr. Levinau filed an appeal to the Investigation Committee against the outrageous behavior of the police guards. According to him, the chief of the board of public security of the Kastrychnitski DPD A. Kamarou was to be held criminally responsible for the fact that the police interfered with the work of journalists and threatened them with arrest.

The human rights defender also filed an appeal to Judge Halina Urbanovich, asking to change the restraint to Andrei Haidukou:

"I believe that the presumption of innocence is violated in this case. Why does a man whose guilt has not been proven, is kept in a "cage" during the trial? And why is he kept in custody at all?. I think that Judge Halina Urbanovich, who conducts the trial of Andrei Haidukou, violates his rights," commented the human rights defender.

According to Pavel Levinau, the trial was scheduled for two days – 12 and 13 June, whereas Andrei's mother Volha Haidukova was told it would last for five days. She hopes to be summoned to the trial as a witness and she would see her son for the first time in 7 months. Before this, she was thrice denied a meeting with him.

Andrei Haidukou is charged under two artcles of the Criminal Code, Part of Art. 14 "Criminal attempt" and Part 1 of Article 356 "High treason", for which he can be sentenced to 7-15 years of imprisonment. The operative part of the verdict to Andrei Haidukou will be read at an open court session.

Andrei Haidukou was arrested on 8 November in Minsk. According to the official information of the KGB it was allegedly done "while he was making a hiding with information which could may be relevant to foreign intelligence services". Since then, he was kept in custody: mostly in the KGB remand prison in Minsk with the exception of one month for which he was transferred to the Vitsebsk remand prison, and the last days, when he was again transferred to Vitsebsk for the trial.

His friends and relatives consider the charges of espionage to be absurd and consider it as an attempt of the KGB to intimidate opposition activists.