Preventive arrest ahead of “Stop Tax” protests

Zmitser Paliyenka was sentenced to 15 days in custody.

The activist was detained at around 16:00 yesterday near the checkpoint at the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ), where he works. Zmitser Paliyenka was taken to the Zavadski district police department and charged with disorderly conduct (article 17.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences), Viasna human rights centre reports.

The activist was tried on December 27. Judge of the Zavadski district court Anastasia Asipchyk sentenced Zmitser to 15 days in custody. She dismissed a motion to obtain and watch the footage of security cameras near the plant's checkpoint that could prove he hadn't done anything illegal.

Zmitser Paliyenka plans to appeal against the detention and the court decision. The activist regards the illegal actions by law-enforcement officers as preventive prosecution in connection with the “Stop Tax” protests scheduled for today. The activist is an administrator of the “Stop Tax” community on VKontakte social network.

It's not the first preventive detention of the activist. He was isolated ahead of a meeting of the CIS Foreign Ministers Council in Minsk on October 24.