Belarusian KGB’s Plot: Third Way Coordinator Detained in Russia to be Extradited to Belarus on Political Charges

On March 25, 2007 Andrey Abozau, technical coordinator of the Third Way, was arrested by Russian police on his way back to Estonia. Andrey was taken off the Moscow—Tallinn train. Policemen who detained Andrey told him that he was in federal search in Russia, as he is in search in Belarus due to his political activities. This information later proved to be wrong. Andrey Abozau was able to contact Andrey Suzdaltsev, a Russian political expert deported from Belarus in 2006, in Moscow who immediately contacted Security Council of Russian Federation. As it turned out Andrey was searched only on this particular destination of the Russian railroad. All this allows to think that there are insiders from Belarusian KGB working in Russian police who organized took part in plotting Andrey’s arrest using as a pretext Russian federal search.

It became know that Belarusian KGB and Ministry of Internal Affairs were initiators of the search for Andrey Abozau, as well as Pavel Marozou and Aleh Minich with their following extradition to Belarus and further imprisonment for “insulting president Lukashenka”. Andrey would have been extradited to Belarus on the basis of Russian- Belarusian intergovernmental agreements.

Pavel Marozau, one of the prosecuted persons in relation to the Multclub case, commented the incident, “I strongly believe that renewed search and a new wave of prosecution of the members of the MultClub indicates not only that Belarusian authorities want to close the case, but, to a greater extent, regime’s fear in front of constantly growing political influence of the Civil Initiative Third Way.”

Andrey Abozau was kept in Russian prison for more than a day while Russian policemen and prosecutors were examining his case. He went on a hunger strike without notifying Tver policemen, in order to hinder his extradition to Belarus.

Third Way sent an official letter to the member of Russian-Belarusian remedial commission of Human Rights Committee at President of Russian Federation Andrey Suzdaltsev regarding the arrest. To remind, Human Rights Committee had recognized Multklub club as a politically motivated one back in 2005. Mr. Suzdaltsev immediately informed Russian executive authorities about the incident.

Andrey Obozov was released in the evening on March 26. He was escorted by Russian police to the Russia-Estonia border in order to avoid any excesses from Belarusian KGB . It was necessary there was a high possibility that Belarusian KGB would make an attempt to kidnap Andrey on his way to the Estonian border. The Prosecutor’s Office of Tver City concluded that “Andey Obozov cannot be extradited to Belarus because there are no grounds for it in the Criminal Code of Russian Federation”.

Andrey Obozov is in Estonia at present time.

Notes
In August 2005, Pavel Marozau, initiative’s coordinator, Andrey Abozau, web site administrator, and Aleh Minich, initiative’s volunteer, author of the cartoons, were detained with the charges for “insuling” President Lukashenka. Two-minute-long cartoons were created by Aleh Minich and posted on one of the community’s web sites http://mult.3dway.org. The activists were taken to KGB, and their personal computers and other equipment were confiscated. The charges brought against them may have resulted in up to Five years in prison. Since there were precedents of imprisonment for libel against Lukashenka, it was highly probable that the Third Way activists would be jailed for cartoons. As a result, fearing for their lives, Aleh Minich had to flea to Germany, and Andrei Abozau left for Estonia.

In 2006, charges were brought against Pavel Marozau, who still remained in Belarus. Facing inevitable politically motivated imprisonment he had to flea for Estonia, where hi is presently residing. All members if the MultClub case are in search in Belarus.