Mikhail Marynich Was Arrested Year Ago :: Charter'97 :: News

A year ago the well-known Belarusian politician, former Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Belarus Mikhail Marynich was arrested. “This year could be named a critical one in forming position of the world community towards Belarus. On the example of my father’s arrest the world has seen the real face of Lukashenka’s dictatorship. It is an immoral, shameless, regime capable of anything. It is obvious that the case of Mikhail Marynich was a frame-up, it was a political order. And it is not forgotten. On April 29 in Strasbourg the hearings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the case of my father are to be held. It show once again that the world community is concerned over the situation in our county,” told son of Mikhail Marynich, leader of civil initiative “Freedom to Political Prisoners!”, member of the Council of Civil Initiatives “Free Belarus” Pavel Marynich.

On March 7 Mikhail Marynich had a stroke in Vorsha medium-security colony. Only thanks to the demands of the Belarusian and world community Marynich was placed to a republican prison hospital in Minsk, where he stays until now.

Heads of different countries, in particular French president Jacques Chirac, Latvian president Vaira Vike-Freiberga, MPs of parliaments of many countries of the world, the European parliament, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the OSCE. The resolution of the European Parliament also demands release of Mikhail Marynich. The statements with a demand of Mikhail Marynich’s immediate release have been adopted also by the European Union and the USA. The influential human rights organization “Amnesty International” recognized Mikhail Marynich Prisoner of Conscience.

An overwhelming majority of the leaders of public opinion and experts interviewed by the Independent Institute of Social Economical and Political Research are convinced of the political version of the criminal prosecution and view him as one of the most promising presidential candidates in Belarus.

The struggle for release of Mikhail Marynich and other political prisoners, vendors’ leaders Alyaksandr Vasilyeu, Valery Levaneuski, has been going on this year in Belarus. Protest rallies are held in the country all the time, hundreds of thousands of leaflets and newspapers calling for their release are disseminated.

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