VERDICTS TO PARTNERSTVA ACTIVISTS DELIVERED 15:43, 04/08/2006
The judge of the court of Tsentralny district of Minsk, Leanid Yasinovich, has passed a sentence to activists of the civil initiative of elections observation Partnerstva. Mikalay Astrejka has been sentenced to two years in minimum-security correctional labour facility, Tsimafei Dranchuk to one year of minimum-security correctional labour facility, Alyaksandr Shalajka and Enira Branitskaya to 6 months of imprisonment. Thus, the authorities disposed of the public activists who planned to organize an independent observation network at the presidential elections. In a month after the arrest of Partnerstva activists, in March 2006, Lukashenka’s regime rigged the elections’ results. It has been argued by reputable international organizations.
Public activists were detained in the run-up to the presidential elections, on February 21, and since that time stayed in prison. They were charged with “organizing and leading an organization infringing rights and duties of citizens”, which had not been registered by the state.
The prosecutor Andrei Migun demanded to sentence the leader of the civil initiative of elections observation Partnerstva, Mikalay Astrejka, to 3 years of imprisonment; Partnerstva activists Tsimafei Dranchuk, Enira Branitskaya and Alyaksandr Shalajka to 2 years of imprisonment.
It was a closed trial, neither journalists nor foreign diplomats have been allowed to attend the court. Even family members have not been allowed to be present in the courtroom.
On August 21 Branitskaya and Shalajka are to be released.
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