Ukrainian foreign ministry pushing for release of jailed demonstrators :: Charter'97 :: News

A Ukrainian official renewed criticism of what his country views as the mistreatment of Ukrainian nationals during a Chernobyl anniversary rally in Minsk, a statement that came a day after the Belarusian foreign office announced that it had reached a full understanding on the matter with Ukrainian diplomats.

Five Ukrainian citizens were arrested during the April 26 demonstration and sentenced to jail time ranging in length from nine to 15 days.

“Ukraine continues insisting that cooperation [with Belarus] will be reliable only if all provisions of appropriate international conventions are observed, the Ukrainian citizens are released from custody and brought home,” Dmytro Svystkov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, told BelaPAN on Thursday.

The Ukrainian government has accused the Belarusian authorities of ignoring the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and denying the detainees access to consular assistance for two days.

On April 28, the Ukrainian foreign ministry also requested the embassy in Minsk to push for a medical examination of the detainees over reports about excessive force used by Belarusian policemen during the arrests. The Ukrainian detainees, one of whom has a stomach ulcer, should be examined in the presence of their attorney, the ministry stressed.

The jailed Ukrainian demonstrators went on a hunger strike on Thursday in protest against their detention.

“The Ukrainian foreign ministry is currently examining laws to find ways to secure the release of the Ukrainian citizens, in particular by applying provisions of Belarusian laws that provide for the exemption from administrative punishment or the commutation of administrative punishment to a softer penalty,” according to the ministry’s press office.