Valery Levaneuski Suspended Hunger Strike :: Charter'97 :: News

The leader of National Strike Committee of Vendors, member of the Council of civil initiatives “Free Belarus” Valery Levaneuski suspended hunger strike of protest. Family of the political prisoner has received a letter from him. He writes that he had decided to stop hunger strike because of health problems. However, Valery Levaneuski is going to go on hunger strike every month, until he achieves his aim, told the son of vendors’ leader, Uladzimir Levaneuski.

“I suspend the hunger strike out of tactical reasons. Firstly, my health is not so good. Secondly, I was ordered to make a list of my belongings, and it means that probably they want to send me forcibly to republican hospital of Internal Affairs Ministry. A guy went on hunger strike before me, and he was placed to isolation ward, than given an injection and sent to the hospital. As for the hunger strike, I am going to continue it every month, until I reach my aim”.

he political prisoner demands dismissal of the head of the penal jurisdiction department of the Interior Ministry of Belarus Uladzimir Kouchur. The leader of Hrodna vendors charges the head of the penal system of Belarus with violation of his rights. Uladzimir Kouchur does not answer to Valery Levaneuski’s appeals against, as he says, illegal punishments, because of which he would not be amnestied.
On September 7, 2004 court of the Lenin district of Hrodna found Valery Levaneuski, the chairman of the National Strike Committee of Vendors, member of the Council of Civil Initiatives “Free Belarus”, and Alyaksandr Vasilyeu, deputy chairman of the National Strike Committee of Vendors, guilty of public slander of Belarusian President connected with a grave crime (Article 368 Part 2 of the Criminal Code), and sentenced them to two years of imprisonment of the minimum-security colony. It was written in the verdict that the sentence “Come and say that you are against somebody’s skiing in Austria at your expense”, printed in leaflets, contains insult of honour and dignity of the president of the Republic of Belarus.
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