Maxim Vinyarski: Riot policeman threatened by “Russian world” and Belarus does not exist

(Updated) Maxim Vinyarski and Ales Makaeu, arrested for solidarity with Ukraine, have been released.

A coordinator of European Belarus civil campaign, and one of the leaders of small businessmen, have spent 15 days behind the bars after the rally on the anniversary of the death of Mikhail Zhyzneuski, a Belarusian who was killed in Maidan. Maxim Vinyarski has told charter97.org website how he was detained and sentenced to arrest.

“We came to the monument of Taras Shevchenko. There were already other opposition activists and prominent people there. We laid flowers and stood near the monument. A chief of the police department of Tsentralny district of Minsk and about 5 policemen in mufti came up to them immediately. He said that laying flowers to the monument violates rules of holding mass events, and demanded to disband immediately. We answered that it was no rally, and explained that we came to pay tribute to the memory of the Belarusian killed in Independence Square (Maidan) in Kyiv.

Policemen retreated, and we sang the anthem of Ukraine and “Oh, Mighty God”, and after that started to break up. I was walking with a group of people along Masherau Avenue. At that moment people in mufti ran up to us. Two persons jumped at my back. Without any explanations, the detainees were dragged to a bus, several persons were shoved brutally inside the bus, Ales Makaeu was hit,” Maxim Vinyarski told.

While the activists were transported to the police department, riot policemen carried out “educational conversations” on historical and geopolitical topics with them. They continued on the next day on the way to the court.

“Policemen, who were in the bus beside the detainees, told that “we are going to have a bad time, but not for long.” They assured that no Maidan is going to happen in Belarus ever, and called representatives of Ukrainian authorities “fascists and banderites”. In the police department one of the riot policemen started to intimidate us with “the Russian world”, he said that he loves Vladimir Putin very much. He claimed that there is no independent Belarus at all, and there should not exist one, and the territory of both our country and Ukraine are a historic part of Russia. On the way to the court he said that in case “Donbas scenario” repeats in our country, he would fight on the side of Moscow. On the other side, the riot policemen claimed that Lukashenka would never order to fight against Russians for the sake of defence of Belarus’ independence,” the opposition activist said.

Maxim Vinyarski explained why he had to go on a hunger strike while he was kept in prison in Akrestsin Street. As said by him, it happened because of illegal actions of employees of the detention centre.

“After the sentence was passed, I was taken to the prison with other people. One of the policemen made an inventory of my personal belongings, and demanded to switch on my phone, allegedly for checking the identification number. Right after that an officer on duty entered the room and stated that he was to take the switched on phones with him, allegedly for checking whether video filming had been made with their help. He took the phone and later explained that he did so on a personal order of the governor of prison, and he didn’t conceal that he wanted to examine it. I wrote a statement immediately, saying that because of these illegal actions I announce a waterless hunger strike. It lasted for 5 days, until the moment when my personal belongings were returned to my family,” the coordinator of “European Belarus” said.

Maxim Vinyarski learnt that at the press-conference of Alyaksandr Lukashenka journalists brought up the topic of the illegal arrest of the participants of the rally he had taken part in.

“Detaining people for solidarity with Ukraine looks absolutely logical in the framework of the system, which had been created by the dictator himself. All his statements and demands to “sort things out” are laughable and absurd. On the next day after the press-conference Alyaksandr Kasinets stated that at the rally people allegedly demanded repetition of Maidan in Belarus. It’s a lie, however it demonstrates what is the greatest fear of the Belarusian authorities,” Maxim Vinyarski stated.