Authorities in Brest ban opposition activists from demonstrating on anniversary of Yury Zakharanka’s disappearance
13:58, — Politics
The Brest City Executive Committee has denied permission for a rally that would mark nine years since the disappearance of opposition politician Yury Zakharanka.
As human rights defender Raman Kislyak told BelaPAN, the rally was to take place at the square in front of the Belarus movie theater on Savetskaya Street on May 7.
The city authorities have explained that no mass events may be held on the street, which is currently being renovated, and a remote soccer stadium is the only site in Brest where rallies may take place.
Mr. Kislyak, who applied to the city authorities for permission to hold the rally, plans to appeal the ban to the Leninski District Court. He insists that the central street is not closed to pedestrians despite ongoing construction and renovation work.
Mr. Kislyak said that the purpose of the rally was to demand that the Belarusian authorities investigate the disappearances of Mr. Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasowski and Dzmitry Zavadski.
Svyatlana Zavadski, the wife of the journalist who disappeared in 2000, planned to hold a similar rally in Minsk on May 7, but the Belarusian capital’s authorities banned the event.
General Zakharanka, a former interior minister turned opposition leader, went missing under mysterious circumstances on May 7, 1999. High-ranking government officials are widely believed to have been involved in his abduction.
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