Senior officials from Belarus are due to arrive in Moscow on Thursday for talks about setting 2007 gas prices. The meeting comes as Russia is looking to increase prices to many former parts of the Soviet Union after years of selling gas at discounted levels.

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Today in Hrodna in the court of Kastrychnitski district a trial over entrepreneur Mikalay Autukhovich continues. He is on hunger strike since April 13. As it turned out, after the last court session last Tuesday he fell unconscious. He was placed to the prison medical unit and a dropper made to him, the Radio Svaboda informs.

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According to Radio Svaboda, the club who had been once initiated by the chairman of the Consulting and Observing group of the OSCE in Belarus a German politician Hans-George Vik. The wives and mothers had then an opportunity to gather in the OSCE building in Belarus. They discussed the situation and worked out the strategy of cooperative actions. The number of participants of today`s club is much bigger.

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Young activists Artur Finkevich and Pavel Drazdou were brought out of the special detention center in Akrestsin Street in police cars. It was done in order not to allow relatives and friends of Finkevich and Drazdou to meet the political prisoners in front of the prison.

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Participants of the rally of solidarity with the Young Front members Yury Bakura, YUry Klimenka and Natallya Kastsiukovich have been issued an official warning by the district court of Leninski district of Hrodna. As the Charter’97 press center was infomed by one of the activists detained today, Natallya Kharitaniuk, the young activists were charged with violation Article 167 of the Administrative Code, “violation of the rules of religious meetings”.

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Today at 1 p.m. the leader of the Young Front Zmitser Dashkevich was released from the special detention center of Minsk city executive committee. Right after the release Zmitser Dashkevich told to the Charter”97 press center that he is going to join the hunger strike of protest against criminal prosecution of the Young Front activists, which is held in several Belarusian towns now.

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A young leader Mikita Sasim can be released on June 16, on the Day of Belarusian Solidarity. As the Charter’97 press center was informed, the political prisoner wrote about this to his mother in a letter. On May 12 the young leader Mikita Sasim was sentenced to three months of imprisonment for draft evasion. The human rights organization Amnesty International has recognized Mikita Sasim a prisoner of conscience.

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A young activist Krystsina Shatsikava has lodged a complaint and submitted it to the head of Internal Affairs Department of Minsk executive committee with a demand to return her personal belongings, which disappeared after the dispersal of the tent camp in October Square on March 24 and arrest of its participants. As we have informed, hundreds of other defenders of the tent camp faced the same situation: after arrests and dismantling of tents their things disappeared as well.

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In Svetlahorsk all workers of the production association Khimvalakno are compelled to subscribe for the newspaper of the “Belarusian youth public association of lifeguards-firemen”. The newspaper “Young lifeguard” is published in Minsk.

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Participants of the “Silent Watch”, a rally of solidarity with political prisoners and the Young Front activists persecuted by the regime, have been arrested in Brest. Its participants stayed in Lenin Square in the center of the city, near the “Zero Kilometre” monument. Sitting on the ground, they were silently reading the Bible. After a certain period of time the participants of the protest were changing every hour. They have spent the whole night in the square. At 8 a.m. they were arrested by policemen. As participants of the protest told to the Charter’97 press center, reports have been drawn against Andrei Sharenda, Yury Bakur, Yury Klimenka, Natallya Kastsiukovich and Natallya Kharitaniuk for holding “an unsanctioned religious event”. They are to be taken to the court soon.

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