Vitsebsk human rights activist Piatro Ivanou threatened to be deported to Russia

Vitsebsk human rights activist and military pensioner Piatro Ivanou is threatened with being deported to Russia and demanded to submit an income statement. The department on citizenship and migration of Vitsebsk’s Kastrychnitski police department demands that the human rights activist Piotr Ivanou (in the picture) reported about the living expenses before 20 January. Otherwise they promise to deport him to Russia.

Mr. Ivanou was born in Belarus, but worked in Russia and received the citizenship. It is pointed out that the human rights activist was a career soldier and his permanent income is the pension. Ivanou repeatedly emphasized this fact during court proceedings, apart from that he is able to confirm his pension incomes with documents.

The human rights activist claimed that law enforcement agencies turned their attention to him after he had been detained in 2012 for disseminating leaflets supporting an opposition activist Siarhei liabedzka.jpgKavalenka and convicted for “foul language”. A year later he was convicted for “giving false evidence against policemen, who, while violating traffic rules, detained two Vitsebsk youth activists Aliaksei Kishchuk and Stanislau Laurenau”.

“For half a year they have been threatening me with deportation, in case I show any kind of protest”, Ivanou claimed. “The term of my residence permit expires in October 2014, now police are trying to find grounds for the document not to be prolonged, or even to deport me before it expires. Although I cannot imagine, how this will be taking place, since we have an open border with Russia. My wife and children live in Vitsebsk, we have an apartment here. Will they take me to a forest somewhere near Smolensk and leave there?”

Ivanou continues human rights activities, despite the threat of being deported. He consults Vitsebsk doctor Ihar Pastnou, who is trying to appeal against the court’s decision on forced treatment in a mental institution, and also stands for the interests of a 60-year old resident of Vitsebsk district Leanid Zdrestau, who lives in an apartment with no heating.