Yury Rubtsou questioned in Investigation Committee

Gomel activist, serving his sentence in the Commandant's Office in Kuplin village, was taken to the regional Investigation Committee for questioning on February 9.

The politician prisoner managed to say it by the phone.

Human rights activists name the initiation of a criminal case for evasion from serving punishment under Article 415 of the Criminal Code of the RB as a possible reason for investigators' interest in Rubtsou. It imposes a penalty up to three years in prison. It is likely to get more information after questioning.

On February 1 Yuri Rubtsov received a warning under Art. 415 CC from the management of an open type institution No. 7,Vyasna Human Rights Center reports.

Yury Rubtsou considers it a complete nonsense. It is impossible both to be in place of serving punishment and at the same time evade it.

And there is nothing surprising in fact that he requires a job with an average salary of $600: everyone wants to live, but not exist. Especially when, the activist believes, prisoners fully cover their expenses.

On October 6, 2014 Natallia Vaitsekhovich, the judge of the Central District Court of Minsk, sentenced Yury Rubtsou to one and a half years of imprisonment in an open type institution for allegedly insulting the judge Kiryl Palulekh. He tried the activist in spring after the rally "Charnobylski shliakh 2014" (Chernobyl Way - 2014). Rubtsou was wearing the t-shirt with inscription "Lukashenka, go away!".

When the judge Kiryl Palulekh agreed to try Yury wearing this t-shirt, he, according to the judge, called him "bastard". The Minsk City Court unsatisfied Rubtsou's cassation claim.

Viasna Human Right Center and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee stated that Yury Rubtsou's deprivation of liberty in an open type institution gave grounds to consider him a political prisoner.