Arrested Opposition Activists Turn for OSCE AMG Help :: Charter'97 :: News

Vladimir Malei and Gennady Samoilenko, sentenced by the Leninsky district court of Brest to 15 days of arrest, addressed the OSCE AMG ambassador in Belarus with a request to tell the OSCE and the European Parliament’s leaderships about “new facts of violation by the Belarusian authorities of art.19 of the Pact “On civil and political rights”.

BelaPAN reported that on January 5 there ended court hearings on the administrative cases of 12 individuals, who took part in the UCP’s action “The Chain of Those Who Care” in Brest. 9 of them were fined 20 minimal wages. Vladimir Malei and Gennady Samoilenko received upon court’s ruling 15 days of administrative arrest. Right from the pre-trial detention they were delivered to jail.

“Judge Mironyuk’s decision came as a shock to us. He applied the harshest punishment to all the “chain’s” participants, including those, who engaged in the action for the first time,” – reads the statement. Malei and Samoilenko address OSCE AMG with a request to communicate this information to the OSCE brass and forward a concomitant inquiry to the Supreme Court of Belarus in order to clarify “whether the definition “picketing” can describe those, who stand with the portraits of missing people, portraits of Lukashenko or icons.”