Member of “Stop-tax” group got arrested again

Mahilou’s October court again sentenced a member of “Stop-tax” group on VKontakte social network Anton Kascou to three-day arrest.

On 24 December 2013 policemen accused Kascou of violating the procedure of organization and holding a mass event, having considered him the creator of the “Stop-tax” group. A protocol was filed against the young man under part 1 of the article 23.34 of the Code on Administrative Violations, his laptop confiscated. On 26 December Kascou was summoned to Mahilou’s October police department so that his correspondence on the social network could be explored. From the police station Kascou was taken to court, which decided to sentence him to three-day arrest. Subsequently the activists appealed against the decision of the court of first instance in Mahilou region court, which cancelled the resolution of the judge of October district court Alena Sieladcova for formal reasons and send the documents for reconsideration, BelapAN reports.

New trial started on 17 February, but by the defendant’s motion rescheduled for 21 February.

“On trial on 21 February major Zajcau was present, who monitors the Internet. At first he testified and did not conceal that they opened my computer without me”, - Anton Kascou said.

“I insisted that my constitutional rights were violated by that, human rights as such. I said that the inspection of my computer should not had taken place without me”, - the activist pointed out.

Regardless of the argument of Kascou, who is a UCP member and is currently registered as a candidate for Mahilou city council, a judge Volha Zarachniuk has found him guilty of organizing the “Stop-tax” event in Mahilou on 20 December. The activist has been again sentenced to three-day administrative arrest, which was reckoned as already served.

Nevertheless Kascou intends to appeal the decision of October district’s court in Mahilou regional court.

The activist is also preparing an appeal to the prosecutor’s office on the response that he received from the temporary detention institution in Mahilou Siarhiej Krasnou. Anton Kascou tried to hold the insitution’s staff responsible for putting him in the same cell with a person, who had previously served prison term for a crime. However Krasnou responded to him that there was no possibility to ascertain, with whom exactly Kascou had been put in the same cell.