Opposition activist in Rechytsa sentenced to six days in jail on obscenities charge
18:41, — Politics
An opposition activist in Rechytsa, Homyel region, has been jailed for six days by a district judge’s decision viewed as a move to isolate him for the period of a national end-of-harvest festival, Dazhynki 2007, hosted by the city on September 21 and 22.
Referring to a statement by Rechytsa District Executive Committee Deputy Chairman Tumilovich, police charged that Leanid Nyavar, a founder of the Association for the Free Development of Enterprise, spoke obscenities while standing at the crossroads between Lenin Street and Turshynskaha Street at 10 a.m. on September 18.
His wife Tamara insists that he was staying at home that morning, and that neighbors can confirm this.
According to her, Judge Strelchanka did not let her in the courtroom and rejected the lawyer’s request to call witnesses for the accused. Instead, he called a manager of a local forestry enterprise who had allegedly heard Mr. Nyavar shout obscenities.
Valery Putsitski, leader of the Rechytsa chapter of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), told BelaPAN that the local authorities had decided to clear the city of oppositionists for the period of the festival. In particular, Mr. Putsitski, a railroad repair foreman, was assigned to go to Zhytkavichy. BPF member Alyaksandr Hancharenka was sent on a business trip to Orsha for 10 days, and one more BPF member, Kanstantsin Kuznyatsow, a resuscitation specialist, was ordered to go to Petrykaw for two weeks.
