Ales Makajeu: High comfort prison will be opened for Ice Hockey World Championship

On 28 December an opposition activist Ales Makajeu was released from the jail in Akrescina Street after a 5-day arrest.

Friends and comrades met him from prison. In a commentary to the charter97.org web-site he noted that the conditions in prison significantly improved, the detained are provided with bedding and blanket. For the 5 days of the arrest Ales was provided with 5 bars of soap and 5 sheets of paper, taken to shower. For these “pleasures” they then charges 65000 roubles per day.

Makajeu did not meet any other political prisoners, who are currently there – neither Aliaksandr Frantskievich nor Maksim Viniarski. His cellmates were usual criminals, who asked him to tell the wardens that they would too want to be given soap and paper. It seems that unlike the political prisoners, who get attention of opposition media, the prison saves on usual prisoners. Makajeu was told that specially for the Ice Hockey World Championship a new building will be opened with “high level of comfort”, where they even promise there will even be hot water in cells.

We would remind that on 23 December the judge Tacciana Motyl, who is included in the EU’s sanctions list, found Ales Makajeu guilty of violating the article 23.34 (part 3) of the Code on Administrative Conduct: repeated organization of an unauthorized event within a year. Despite multiple discrepancies and violations of protocol composition procedure that the counsel emphasized, the oppositionist was sentenced to a 5-day arrest.

On 24 November Minsk activists were detained in the village of Hrozava while singing the anthem “God Almighty” to commemorate the perished heroes. The commemoration event on the occasion of the anniversary of Slutsk Rebellion was authorized by the authorities.

Aliaksandr Makajeu is the deputy chairman of the Razam movement. In December 2012 he was convicted for organizing a commemoration meeting in the honor of the heroes in the same village of Hrozava, he was sentenced to a fine in the amount of 5 million roubles.