Zmitser Dashkevich: There could be no other sentence for Mikalai Statkevich

The sentence of the former presidential candidate is a logical result of the repressive machine in Belarus.

Co-chairman of Young Front and a former political prisoner Zmitser Dashkevich shared his opinion with charter97.org about yesterday's trial of Mikalai Statkevich, which resulted in his repeated transfer to prison.

"It is a logical sentence, which is the result of the current regime. I believe the colony administration could not leave Statkevich among two thousand convicts in the Shklou colony, therefore, they isolated him.

Perhaps, the trial was moved for a special purpose and it coincided with another visit of an official of the European Union to demonstrate something. But Lukashenka has no need to give any additional orders. Repressive mechanism is launched and it operates. Every its member thinks how not to miss another burst of citizen activism. Therefore, one can carry out an order and pursue someone, and others may even add something new.

It was the only possible scenario with respect to Mikalai Statkevich. He had to be insulated. The situation could have been even worse as with Mikalai Dziadok, who was sentenced to additional year six days before the release. This is vandalism. Here we at least know that he will stay in closed prison until the end of the current term and then he will be released," he said.

It should be reminded that on May 4 it was decided to transfer the opposition politician and former presidential candidate from Shklou colony No. 17 to prison until the end of the sentence (1 year, 7 months, 15 days). Mikalai Statkevich is accused of violation of internal regulations and disobedience of the colony administration. Maryna Adamovich says he has more than a dozen penalties; most of them are for refusal to clean up the territory. All prisoners should do it not more than two hours a day. But those rules, regarding the political prisoner, had not been implemented. And he considered it a legitimized humiliation. On March 24 the politician wrote an application for refusal to work. After it the pressure on him was intensified.

Mikalai Statkevich is the only candidate for the Presidency in 2010 who is still imprisoned. In May 2011, he was sentenced to six years in prison for organizing mass disorder on the day of presidential elections. The international human rights organizations recognized Statkevich as a political prisoner.

The opposition politician initially served his term in Shklou colony No. 17, but in January 2012, conditions of the completion of sentence were tightened and he was sent to Mahileu prison No. 4 for three years. After the term expiration on January 12 of the current year, the politician was back to the Shklou colony and where he was drawn up 2 protocols within first two days on violation of regulations.