One of the leaders of “European Belarus” was kept in police ‘glass’ 5 hours more after court

After 10 days of arrest one of the leaders of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Mikola Statkevich, arrested for participation in an official May Day meeting.

Activists of the civil campaign “European Belarus” met the politician in front of the detention centre in Akrestsin Street. As told by the politician, he experienced a constant pressure from policemen for the whole period of 10 days of his arrest. As said by him, the harshest attitude to him was in Pershamajski district police department. Right after the court where the politician was sentenced to an arrest, Mikola Statkevich was placed in a so-called “glass”, a tiny room for detainees in a police department. Statkevich was kept for 5 hours without water and food, and only after that he was sent to a special detention centre in Akrestsin Street.

Mikola Statkevich believes that pressure was exerted on him because at the trial he stated about illegal actions of riot policemen who arrested him at the officially sanctioned meeting. The politician applied for disqualification of the judge and refused to participate in the trial. As said by him, “the meeting was completely legal, EU flags are absolutely legal, and only riot policemen who arrested about 30 activists of the “European Belarus” violated the law”.

In the pre-trial detention centre Statkevich stayed in overcrowded cells, he was not taken out for walks and often searched.

As we have informed, on May 1 more than 100 activists of the civil campaign “European Belarus” came to the National library on 1 May and unfurled dozens of European flags at the official demonstration. 1 May is marked officially in Belarus as Labour Day. This date has important meaning both for Europe and Belarus: four years ago ten new states joined the European Union and the EU borders extended to our country.

But as soon as EU flags appeared among the red-green ones at the official demonstration, riot police officers run up to oppositionists. Riot policemen snatched EU flags away, broke flagpoles, took away blue cloths with stars. Besides, riot policemen hindered work of photo correspondents: beat cameras, pushed journalists away and used foul language.

In the police report against Mikola Statkevich and other activists of the “European Belarus” it was stated that he was “waiving a blue flag with yellow stars, called upon joining the EU through a megaphone, and thus violated Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code”.