Human Rights Defender: John Silver Can Be Recognized Political Prisoner

The investigation of the criminal case against blogger Eduard Palchys has been completed, the case was transferred from the prosecutor's office to the Minsk city court to set the date of the trial.

The press service of the Supreme Court of Belarus told Radio Svaboda about that. The day of the beginning of the trial has not been appointed yet, the Minsk City Court informs.

Human rights defenders continue to monitor Eduard Palchys’s case, which is considered to be politically motivated. A lawyer of the Human Rights Centre Viasna Nastassia Loika does not exclude that Eduard Palchys will be recognized a political prisoner:

“On August 25, the materials of the 1863h.com site, led by Eduard Palchys, were judged. The blogger’s trial may start in some indefinite time – in a week or in a month. The law allows it. “John Silver’s” case is of great public interest, and it is obviously politically motivated. This was confirmed by the closed trial over the site materials, which found 9 articles to be “extremist.” Eduard Palchys’s lawyer is going to appeal this decision. But it should be noted that the basis for a future trial over the blogger is being built this way,” – the lawyer considers.

Will Palchys be recognized a political prisoner, or will he be sentenced for the extremist materials distribution? This will depend on various circumstances.

“Including the information on the case, which is not sufficient so far. But a lot depends on whether the trial is an open one, or they make it closed on the formal ground of secrecy. We’ll look at examinations on Palchys’s case, how open and objective they will be,” – Nastassia Loika said.

Eduard Palchys is accused of “inciting racial, national or religious enmity or discord” (Part 1 of Art. 130 of the Criminal Code) and “distribution of pornographic materials” (Part 2 of Art. 343). For “inciting hatred” Palchys faces arrest for up to six months or restriction of freedom for up to five years, and for “distributing pornography” – deprivation of liberty for a term of 2 to 4 years.

According to Loika, Eduard Palchys is kept in the detention center of Zhodzina.

“He has not lost his courage and morale, is going strong, although the conditions there are pretty tough and is constantly put pressure on. For the 7 months of Palchys’s detention, he has never been allowed to meet his wife, he has been able to see his mother only once. But, judging by his letters, he is allowed to keep in touch,” – Nastassia Loika said.

Lawyer Hanna Bakhtsina is going to defend Eduard Palchys in court.

We remind that blogger Eduard Palchys, known on the Internet under the name of “John Silver,” posted on the 1863h.com site, among other things, the materials that gave critical assessment of the Russian policy towards Belarus and Ukraine. Earlier this year, Eduard Palchys was arrested in Russia and extradited to Belarus.