One of witnesses at Process of Fourteen was making “Human shield”
6
9:34, — Politics
Today at 10 a.m. the third session of the court in the case called the Process of Fourteen started in the court of Tsentralny district of Minsk.
The young people are charged with participation in mass disorders which allegedly took place on January 10 during the protest rally of market vendors. Andrei Kim is held in detention. He is charged with threatening to a policeman during disband of the rally on January 21. Witnesses against a defendant were questioned, and written materials of the criminal case were studied. Today video footage will be watched, Radio Svaboda informs.
Friends, family members and associates of the activists accused with mass disorders participation gathered for the third session of the court at 10 a.m. 10 persons stand trial, while four others (Pavel Vinahradau, Maxim Dashuk, Alyaksandr Barazenka and Mikhail Subach) are to stand trial later, as they have failed to read all files on the case.
Yesterday when written files of the criminal case were examined, contradictory evidence of a policeman Ihar Sychou was found. He stated in a report that in a police department he had been shown Andrei Kim and told that it was a person who hit him. Later Sychou named 2 other versions. To the remark of the lawyer about obviously divergent testimonies, judge and prosecutor stated that the injured person hadn’t been warned about responsibly for false testimony.
As for testimony of the main witness, a traffic policeman Karzyuk (who by the way appeared in the case “Human shield”, which evoked great response in the society), by his testimony he increased confusion in the materials of the case against Andrei Kim.
The sum of damage offered by the Economy Committee caused indignation. According to the committee, sales outlets lost about 125 million rubles because of the demonstration in the center of Minsk.
But the most negative emotions were evoked by a speech of a deputy head of Minsk traffic police Maxim Padbyarozkin, who called the protest of businessmen on January 10 a ‘bacchanalia’. He claimed that participants of the rally were drunk, used foul language and attacked policemen.
“I was greatly impressed by the false testimony of Mr. Padbyarozkin, who told that he felt reek of alcohol from us, that we were not allowing an ambulance to pass, and that the incident when a policeman was beaten took place on January 10. He was not just confusing facts, he was lying intentionally. He used words like “exceptional cynicism”, “bacchanalia”. Judge and prosecutor were encouraging him,” Uladzimer Syarheeu said.
Today video footage about the market vendors rally is to be watched. There is information the papers f the case that the Belarusian TV and Radio Company gave all its video footage to investigators. Besides, print-outs from informational web-sites appear in the files of the case as well.
