News on the topic: political prisoners
06.04.2011 15 “police victims” won’t be dismissed from work
This is the answer given to Dzmitry Salauyou, Chair of the Mahiliou regional organization of the Belarusian Popular Front Adradzhenne by A.Lukomski, commander of the special mission police regiment of the Main Police Department of the Minsk City Executive Committee.
06.04.2011 Investigator Sanko still considers meeting of Pavel Seviarynets as “inexpedient”
Investigator Ivan Sanko once again prohibited the political prisoner Pavel Seviarynets to meet with a priest. The appropriate request was filed on 30 March by Pavel’s mother, Tatsiana Seviarynets.
06.04.2011 Actions of solidarity with political prisoners near St. Symon and Alena Church
Policemen in mufti observe the rallies of solidarity near the Catholic church in Nezalezhnasts Square in Minsk every day.
06.04.2011 Russian citizen Artyom Breus is being squeezed out of Belarus
Artyom Breus is a son of a TV-host Yury Breus, who was famous in the past. Artyom was born in Minsk. He spent his childhood in Estonia, and returned to his homeland with the status of a Russian citizen. He was allowed to register in Belarus as a foreign citizen for a month first, and then the registration might have been renewed. However, after his conviction for the participation in the 19 December rally, the state made him realize that it did not need potential citizens like him.
05.04.2011 Charges given to Pavel Vinahradau
On 5 April the preliminary investigation department of the Minsk City Executive Committee presented charges under Article 293, part 2 (participation in mass riot) and Article 370 (outrage of state symbols) to Pavel Vinahradau, a participant of the post-election rally of 19 December 2010.
05.04.2011 Sentences to Atroshchankau, Malchanau and Novik remain the same
The Minsk City Court left standing the sentences pronounced to Aliaksandr Atroshchankau, Aliaksandr Malchanau and Dzmitry Novik imprisoned for participation in the post-election protest action in Nezalezhnasts Square in central Minsk on 19 December 2010.
04.04.2011 General Procuracy refuses to bring a criminal case concerning Aliaksei Mikhalevich’s statement about torture
The ex-presidential candidate Aliaksei Mikhalevich, an accused in the December 19 "mass riot" case as an accused, was arrested in the night of December 20 and released from the KGB pre-trial prison on 19 February on recognizance not to leave.
04.04.2011 Family of figurant of 19 December “mass riot” case Aliaksandr Klaskouski can be disposed of house
Being a father with many children, last year Aliaksandr Klaskouski got an opportunity to obtain a soft loan to build a flat and even paid some deposits. In early January, the bank must have opened a credit line of the sum the family needed for home building. But Aliaknsadr Klaskouski was arrested at the night of 21 December. “It was only two weeks before obtaining the loan”, said his wife Natallia.
04.04.2011 Changes in the criminal case concerning 19 December “mass riot”
On 2 April, the Young Front activist Ales Kirkevich and a 27-year-old programmer Andrei Pratasenia received official charges under Article 293, part 2 of the Criminal Code, “mass riot”, the press-center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs informs. Kirkevich has been kept in custody since 28 January, Pratasenia – since 9 February.
04.04.2011 Likhavid, Budzimir, Malaletkin: circumstances of hunger-strikes connected to “mass riot case”
On 29 March Natallia Pykina, Judge of the Partyzanski district court of Minsk, found 20-year-old activist of the For Freedom movement Mikita Likhavid guilty of taking part in the “mass riot” that had allegedly taken place on 19 December 2010 in central Minsk, and sentenced him to 3.5 years in a medium security penal colony. After the trial, Mikita appealed against the judgement. On 31 March he also stated that on 4 April he would go on hunger-strike of protest against the unfair verdict. The action was supported by two more participants of the 19 December protest action, a well-known blogger Budzimir, and 49-year-old democratic activist from Orsha, Siarhei Malaletkin (by the way, the police had knocked out several teeth to him during the action).
14.03.2011 Zmitser Dashkevich is threatened with a maximal sentence and black hole in the colony
An officer of the military counter-intelligence paid a visit to Zmitser Dashkevich, Chair of the Young Front, who is kept in the pre-trial prison in Valadarski Street in Minsk on charges of malignant hooliganism.
14.03.2011 Dzmitry Bulanau, an accused in the “mass riot” case, transferred to prison hospital
He could not walk on his own. His mother, Klaudziya Bulanava, informed Nasha Niva that recurrent rheumatic fever had been diagnosed in her son. Despite the fact, the woman is still not allowed to meet her son – she receives all information about his health from the lawyer.
14.03.2011 Presidential candidate and former KGB prisoner Aliaksei Mikhalevich fled from Belarus
The presidential candidate has written in his blog that now he is in the place “out of reach for the KGB”.
14.03.2011 Police witnesses lie, judge trusts them
Journalists have found out that during the trials over the participants of 19 December events the key witnesses secrete their real personal details.
14.03.2011 Andrei Sannikau has new lawyer
As charter97.org website was informed by Alla Sannikava, she managed to find a lawyer who agreed to defend the presidential candidate. The previous lawyer of Andrei Sannikau, Pavel Sapelka, had been deprived of advocatory license. Now the political prisoner is to be defended by the lawyer Maryna Kavaleuskaya from the legal advice bureau of the Frunzenski district of Minsk.
