Marfa Rabkova faces formal charges

Viasna activist Marfa Rabkova has been officially charged under Part 3, Art. 293 of the Criminal Code (training or other preparation of persons for participation in mass riots, or financing of such activities). She remains in custody in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Minsk.

Marfa Rabkova’s lawyer has been forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Rabkova, who is the coordinator of Viasna’s Volunteer Service, was detained together with her husband Vadzim Zharomski on the evening of September 17 and taken to GUBAZIK (Interior Ministry’s Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption). Later, their apartment was searched, and their laptops, smartphones and money were confiscated.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Front Line Defenders, Amnesty International and Belarusian human rights organizations supported Marfa Rabkova and demanded that the authorities release her immediately. She was called a political prisoner and a prisoner of conscience.