“My whole family was arrested: two daughters and son-in-law”

People went shopping and did not return to their little children. The family hoped that “police will get the facts straight”. The verdict is – 10 days in prison.

The European Radio for Belarus was told about this story by a Minsk dweller, whose family was arrested on July 6 during dispersal of peaceful protest rallies. The news source gives the name of the man: Karnejchyk (Kornejchik).

- Tell us please what had happened to your family on Wednesday night.

- I was on my way home from my office, passing by “Hyppo” supermarket in Serabranka district, I noticed a traffic policeman who seemed to control traffic. I decided that it was an operation against offenders, I mean against those who park cars in a wrong way. I came home, had a supper, and started to watch TV. And my daughter and son-in-law, who married a month ago, decided to go to the supermarket. After about half an hour or an hour I decided to call my daughter. She was unavailable. We started to panic. I ran to “Hyppo” to watch what was happening there. I noticed a yellow Zhiguli car, and five big ugly brutes near it. I made a mental note of it, and returned home. At about 11 p.m. by elder daughter called. She said she had been released, as she said that she is divorced and her two children are at home alone. And my younger daughter and her husband were detained.

- So your two daughters and your son-in-law were detained?

- Yes, my son-in-law, my younger daughter, and my elder daughter who was later released. And I found out all that later, only when she was released. When she left the police department of Leninski district, she informed us about that, and that her sister with her husband stayed behind bars in the police department. In a while my younger daughter called and said us they would not return home until morning. We were nervous, we were sleepless, and thought they would return in the morning. And that the police would get the facts straight. My younger daughter and her husband had bought a bag of food. And they were arrested with this bag. My daughter was charged with using obscene language, though she never curses at all. She was charged with calling names and showed resistance to law-enforcers, though as it turned out later, all those men were in mufti. In the morning I realized that the going gets tough, I came to the court and started to wait there. The trial started at 1 p.m., and my daughter was the first to stand trial. It was read out she used obscene language, her behaviour was inadequate, and deforced. And there was a witness. And I noticed that witness, I saw him and talked to him. I said he should not treat people like that, innocent people. When I left the courtroom, he said my daughter did not curse; she just disobeyed a representative of power and failed to move away. They were standing near the entrance and did not interfere with anyone.

- That’s what he said to you, and what did he say to the court?

- I said I had a right to be present in court as I’m a father. I heard the judge, a woman, to read out the verdict: my daughter was charged with cursing, insubordination to representatives of power, insults. And she was sentenced to 10 days’ incarceration. When I was in a corridor, my son-in-law was taken to the toilet, he asked to call his father. He was sentenced to 10 days as well. Even his father had been looking for him for 24 hours, not knowing where he is.

- Was your elder daughter convicted as well?

- No. it’s strange, they were together. They had mercy for the elder one, as she has two children. They played kind policemen and released her.

- Have you visited the police department to take the bag with food bought by your children?

- When the court finished and my daughter was taken to the bus to be taken to prison, someone from aw-enforcers in mufti said: go to Leninski police department and take the things bought by your daughter. There was a bag full of meat and everything. Imagine, they just left the shop. I have a receipt. I will go to the prison tomorrow and show it. There is the time when they visited the shop – 7.54 p.m. I remember the witness in the police department. He is a police lieutenant. I said him he must be ashamed, he pretended to be a civilian. He said: and what could I do here? I do not have power, I have an old mother… And I said: and I have a daughter.