Maksim Viniarski: We were detained by 16 riot police officers

A coordinator of European Belarus civil campaign shares details of the arrest.

Maksim Viniarski spoke to Radio Svaboda in the courtroom before being sentenced to 10 days in custody on false accusations.

“We hung up a banner reading “Freedom for Rubtsou” on the bridge near a Gippo hypermarket. We left the site and got detained by riot police in a park nearby,” he said. “There were two police vans and a minibus with riot police officers. The operation was carried out by about 16 men.”

Maksim Viniarski was charged with violating part 3 of article 23.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences (an offences repeated during a year). Judge Harelau gave the activist 10 days in custody.

Hearing of the case of another detained activist, Leanid Kulakou, was postponed until June 23 after a lawyer's motion to summon four witnesses. Kulakou was set free in the courtroom. Siarhei Matskoits was sentenced to 5 days in custody.