Prosecutor wants 6 months of prison for former political prisoner Uladzimir Yaromenak, verdict expected tomorrow morning

The Court of Minsk’s Pershamaiski district considered today the criminal charges (Art. 421 of the Criminal Code) brought against former political prisoner Uladzimir Yaromenak for alleged violation of parole restrictions imposed on him following his release in August 2011.

The case was heard by Judge Leanid Yarmolenkau.  

Before the start of the trial the police illegally prevented representatives of registered media from entering the court building. Only after an appeal to the judge, they were allowed to go into the courtroom.

The courtroom chosen for the hearing could not seat two thirds of those willing to attend the trial, therefore a larger room was eventually provided. However, there wasn’t enough room for everyone, either. Photo and video coverage of the trial was prohibited.

The charges were presented by a representative of the prosecution Mrs. Charapkovich. She read some of the materials of the case and the instances of violation of the rules of preventive surveillance, when Yaromenak was not found at his residence after 21.00 hours at the time of inspection carried out by the staff of the penal inspection of Pershamaiski district police department.

A witness for the prosecution Radzivon Kazak confirmed that on 20 and 21 May Uladzimir Yaromenak was not at the place of residence at the time of the check. He made this conclusion because for 15 minutes no one opened the door, and there was no light in the windows.

Another witness, a senior inspector of the criminal executive inspection of Pershamaiski district police department, Piatskou, explained that on May 21 the owner of the apartment allowed to inspect the premises. Yaromenak was away at the time. He wrote a report, and on May 24 passed the inspection materials to the Investigative Committee.

The lawyer said that the decision to forward the case to the Investigative Committee, signed May 24, in fact, was registered on May 27, while the two reports, which are used as evidence of violations of the rules of preventive surveillance, were not registered at all.

The Judge considered it expedient to summon a witness, Valery Sakovich, the owner of the apartment Yaromenak lived in. The trial was adjourned till 4.30 p.m.

Witness Sakovich could not be delivered to the court, as he is temporarily outside Belarus. However, his written testimony was read out in the courtroom. The witness claims that Yaromenak sometimes did not spend the night at the apartment.

In the debates, Prosecutor Charapkovich put emphasis on the fact that violations of preventive supervision were proven during administrative trials, while appealing the decisions to a higher court only confirmed the guilt of the defendant. She demanded 6 months of arrest for Uladzimir Yaromenak.

The lawyer noted that the minutes of the interrogation of witness Sakovich had different signatures. The Judge said he would take this into account.

The verdict will be announced at 9.45 a.m. on August 20.

Uladzimir Yaromenak, activist of the Young Front youth opposition movement, was arrested as a suspect in the “rioting” case in January 2011. He was later sentenced to three years of imprisonment. He served his sentence in a colony near Vitsebsk. In August 2011, Uladzimir Yaromenak was pardoned among other defendants in the December 2010 rioting case. Since then, he has several times found himself behind bars on administrative charges for participating in protests.