European Belarus activist sentenced to five days in jail

Andrej Mauchan’s trial was secretive.

The activist of the European Belarus civic campaign was detained by police yesterday at his working place and charged with not complying with their demands. The trial took place today. From what the activist’s friends told charter97.org, he was sentenced to five days of an administrative arrest and sent to the jail in Akrestsina Street.

Andrej Mauchan was sent to jail by the judge Volha Listracienka. She also forbad the activist’s relatives and friends to attend the trial.

The administrative hearings on the case took place in the court of Minsk’s Moscow district.

Among the possible reasons for preventive detentions of youth activists that took place yesterday, human rights activists single out the session of the High Eurasian Economic Council and the Council of CIS heads of states that will take place in Minsk today.

“Activists themselves call these detentions preventive due to the CIS summit. I do not rule out that these are the steps taken by the authorities for these visits to take place in calmer circumstances. The activists did not organize any actions, there were no other reasons. The fact that the administrative protocols were composed for alleged hooliganism indicates that these are exactly preventive measures”, - a human rights activist Nasta Lojka stated.