“For Car” deputy director thrown in jail cell for four hours

Fyodar Suchau was arrested on August 22, just before the beginning of Stop Petrol rally.

Fyodar Sukhau, the deputy director of infromation and educational organization “For Car”, was detained and left in the police station of the Tsentralny district of Minsk on August 22 for “suspicion in committing a road accident”, BelaPAN news agency reports.

“Police officers came to my work at 4:00 pm and took me to a police department,” Sukhau said. “When they detained me, they said that a car of the same model, colour and similar registration number had committed a serious road accident on Independence Avenue and disappeared from the site.”

Sukhau was fingerprinted in the police department. Policemen tried to fill in documents during questioning, but when they heard he denied his involvement in the offence, “one of the police officers took the documents and went away”. Policemen did not made a report on the accident. “I did not sign any papers,” Sukhau added.

According to him, policemen said the accident had taken place at 16:25 on August 17. “This fact rules out a possibility of my involvement in the accident, because I was at work at that time. Moreover, there was no such accident in Minsk on August 17. I monitor road accidents in the republic, especially those with serious injuries. I would have known about this accident, if it had happened” the deputy director of the organization explained.

When Sukhau said this to police officers, they lost intErest in him and “understood that their furhter versions about the road accident make no sense”. Then the activist of the automoile movement was placed in a cell until 8:00 pm. “I demanded to release me, but they said I would be arrested for three days for swearing and disorderly conduct if I continued resent,” Sukhau said.

He said he would not complain at the actions of the police, because he does not see sense in this.

The activist said that policemen detained him preventively in order to prevent him from taking part in car owners rally in the evening of August 22 against fuel price increase. “I heard well that policemen received a command “the rally is over”and I was freed after 3 or 5 minutes,” Sukhau said.