Mikola Statkevich Granted a First Leave in Half a Year :: Charter'97 :: News

The leader of Social Democratic party Mikola Statkevich, who is serving the sentence of correctional labour in Pukhavichy district Minsk region, has been allowed to visit his sick father living in the city of Baranavichy, Radio Svaboda informs.

About half a year ago Mikola Statkevich was transferred from Baranavichy to the village of Blon Pukhvichy region. Since that time he hadn’t been granted a leave and not allowed to meet with his sick father living in Baranavichy. The politician was not allowed to leave the place where he is kept even during winter holidays. However, on January 26 late at night Statkevich was invited to the office of the commandant and granted a leave until Monday, January 29.

Thus, on weekend Mikola Statkevich visited his father. On Monday, going back to Pukhavichy region, he met with his fellow party members from the Belarusian Social Democratic party (Narodnaya Hramada) headed by him. Mikola Statkevich has two explanations to this sudden permission. Firstly, policemen were to react to reports of the media that he is not given a leave illegally. Secondly, the authorities are demonstrating a step to meet requirements of Europe, which demands to release political prisoners.

“It is possible that they are going to release some political prisoners in order to coax Europe, primarily Germany. It is possible my variant is also being considered. But frankly speaking, I would not like to be used like this. Kazulin is in a more difficult situation now. Let them release him. And I have to serve half a year more, and I do not want to be a pawn I this game,” Mikola Statkevich told to Radio Svaboda.

Mikola Statkevich planned to hold one of the meetings at Minsk railway station. He was waiting for a suburban electric train to Pukhavichy. However, at the noon on January 29 all people on the railway station were asked to vacate the station for the time of a check. People were told that allegedly a telephone call about mining planting on the station had been received. As a worker of the railway station told later, a mine wasn’t found during the check.

In 2005 Mikola Statkevich was sentenced to two years of imprisonment for staging a protest rally against Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime. Belarusian human rights activists and Amnesty International recognized Mikola Statkevich prisoner of conscience.