Yury Rubtsou: Lukashenka failed his promise of $600 salary

Journalists managed to talk to him during the trial.

Rubtsou's lawyer started his cassation appeal against the sentence delivered by judge Mikalai Rapikha, Pruzhany District Court, on May 28. Homel activist was sentenced to two years in general regime penal colony, Radio Svaboda reminds.

Right after the sentence Yury Rubtsou said he would appeal against the decision as he considered it illegal. "I'm imprisoned because Lukashenka failed his promise of $600 salary", political prisoner managed to say. Policemen hurried to clear the audience, but activists said the police that it would not be possible to "imprison everyone".

Rubtsou's wife and son were managed to have a few-minute talk with him, instead of a long meeting promised by the judge. "He left the audience very fast, and his hands were trembling when pronouncing the sentence. We will seek a date", Yadviha Rubtsova, wife of political prisoner, said.

Now the activist is again in a remand prison in Baranavichy. He will be there unless his complaint against the sentence is considered.

"We gave him a small food parcel, but only 30 kg/month is allowed in the remand prison. Therefore, we will send him products necessary to break the hunger strike", Yadviha Rubtsova said.

It should be reminded that on October 6, 2014 the Central District Court of Minsk sentenced 53-year-old Yury Rubtsou to two and a half years of imprisonment in an open type institution (OTI), but with amnesty the real term reduced to 18 months. Yury Rubtsou was accused of insulting the judge Kiryl Palulekh who dealt with the administrative case (Art. 391 CC) after Charnobylski Chliakh (Chernobyl way) rally of April 28, 2014 in Minsk.

Serving punishment in the OTI in Kuplin village, the convicted refused to work because of low wages. Rubtsou required a job with a country's average salary of $600. It became the grounds for a new criminal case.

Before the trial Yury Rubtsou was held in a remand prison of Baranovichy (Brest region). On April 6 the Homel activist went on a hunger strike to protest against accusations against him because he considers both criminal cases trumped-up. After trial Yury Rubtsou declared he had ceased the hunger strike, because he had failed to achieve key objectives. His trial was public and even without detentions of activists who expressed their solidarity.