Europe's last dictator is against European March
7
19:37, — Politics
Today Yury Istomin, the head of Grodna district organization of the United Civil Party (UCP), was sentenced to 7 days of arrest; Zmitser Slutski, the head of UCP Grodna city organization - to 5 days of arrest. Both were accused on article 17.1 of the Administrative Code ("minor hooliganism"). The activists launched a hunger strike of protest against the fake accusations.
Viktar Sazonau, the head of Grodna city organization of the Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada (BSDG), and Radio Ratsyia journalist Yan Roman were accused on the same article and sentenced to 5 days of arrest. The resolutions on all the detained were passed by judge of the Grodna Leninski district court Zmitser Matseyuk. The trials were held closed: nobody of those who came, including journalists, was admitted to the court hall.
The democratic activists and journalist were detained in Grodna at night of October 9. They spent the night in the Leninski district interior department of Grodna. After the trial they were taken to the temporary isolation cell of the Kastrychnitski district interior department.
Moreover, head of UCP Gomel regional organization Vasil Palakou was sentenced to 7 days of arrest. Judge of Chygunachny district of Gomel Yaraslau Paremski passed the resolution.
According to the UCP press-service, nobody was admitted to the trial. Vasil Palakou's wife and colleagues came to the court building at 10 a.m. Nevertheless, they were not allowed to enter; neither did they learn the time of the trial. Palakou's wife found out in the afternoon that the trial had already been held, but she wasn't told the article her husband had been accused on.
Vasil Palakou was charged for "minor hooliganism," just like assistant head of UCP regional organization Uladzimer Katsora, who had been arrested a day earlier, October 9, and sentenced to 7 days. Vasil Palakou was detained on the same day and he spent the night in an isolation cell that he was taken to after the trial.
Today at a press-conference held in Minsk, UCP leader Anatol Liabedzka urged the authorities to listen to the EU demands and called repressions against the European March organizers pointless.
"We cannot ignore what is happening now. The authorities show they are afraid of the popularity of the European March. Provocations against the leaders of the organization committee, arrests of the March organizers, searches of democratic activists' apartments are pointless. Nothing will stop people from coming out to the streets," the politician said.
Belarusian human rights activists say the situation before the European March reminds of the situation before the presidential election of 2006, when hundreds of opposition activists were arrested at once, but still more than 40 000 Belarusians came out to the streets.
