Political prisoner Vasily Parfyankou taken to detention facility again

Vasily Parfyankou, sentenced to a prison term for the post-election protests, but released in August 2011, has been thrown behind bars again.

Vasily Parfyankou phoned his friend Volha at 7:50 a.m. today and said policemen came to escort him to a detention facility.

Vasily said he would possibly be transferred to the Pershamaiski district police department today. Police seized his mobile phone later, Radio Svaboda reports.

On June 24, the Minsk city court dismissed Parfyankou's appeal against a court decision on 6-month custodial term for violation of the rules of preventive surveillance.

On May 29, Vasily Parfyankou was tried in the Pershamaiski district court in connection with violation of article 421 of the Criminal Code. The trial was carried out by judge Syarhei Bandarenka. Parfyankou was put under a year's preventive surveillance on January 5, 2012. The reason was Parfyankou's public and political activity after the release from prison. He ans other prisoners involved in the 2010 post-election protests were pardoned by Lukashenka in August 2011.

Vasily Parfyankou took part in a rally against the rigged presidential elections on December 19, 2010. He was detained on January 4, 2011 on accusations of “mass disorders”. He was kept in a detention facility in Minsk until trial.

On February 17, judge Volha Komar from the Frunzenski district court sentenced Parfyankou to 4 years in a maximum security penal colony. He was also to pay 14,700,000 rubles to compensate for the allegedly damaged building. Money to pay the fine was collected by people who wanted to show solidarity with political prisoners.

He served his term in penal colony No. 8 in Orsha until the release on August 13, 2011.