Opposition Activists Demonstrate in Minsk in Support of Political Prisoners

Some 50 opposition activists formed a human chain on Kastrychnitskaya Square in downtown Minsk at around 6 p.m. on May 16 to display solidarity with imprisoned Alyaksandr Kazulin, Andrey Kim and Syarhey Parsyukevich, and other alleged victims of political persecution in Belarus.

Opposition youthPolice forced the demonstrators out of the square after they defied the order to disperse. No arrests were reported.

“Coming to Kastrychnitskaya Square on May 16 was a civil duty and not a party responsibility,” said Anatol Lyabedzka, chairman of the United Civic Party that staged the demonstration.

“We can only say that Andrey Kim, Syarhey Parsyukevich, Mikhail Kryvaw, Tatsyana Tsishkevich, Artsyom Dubski, Mikhail Pashkevich, Ales Charnyshow, Uladzimir Syarheyew, and those who will stand trial on May 23 need support,” Mr. Lyabedzka said. “Especially those who are in prison need it. If you’ve spent at least a day in a prison cell, you know how important it is to feel that you are not alone, that you are remembered and supported.”

Dr. Kazulin, rector of Belarusian State University between 1996 and 2003 who was a candidate in Belarus' 2006 presidential election, was arrested during a police crackdown on a peaceful post-election opposition demonstration on March 25, 2006. He was found guilty of hooliganism and the organization of group actions disturbing the public peace.

Small business activist Parsyukevich was sentenced to 2 ½ years in a minimum security correctional institution in April. A judge of Minsk’s Maskowski District Court found the man guilty of beating up a police officer.

The 22-year-old Kim was sentenced to 18 months in a minimum security correctional institution on a similar charge. He was among the 10 youths convicted on April 22 over their participation in unsanctioned demonstrations in January.

Seven of the accused – Mikhail Pashkevich, Alyaksey Bondar, Artsyom Dubski, Ales Straltsow, Ales Charnyshow, Mikhail Kryvaw and Tatsyana Tsishkevich – were sentenced to two years’ “corrective labor at the place of residence,” which means that a certain amount will be deducted from their income during the two years.

The remaining two defendants, Uladzimir Syarheyew and Anton Koypish, were each slapped with a fine of 100 times the Base Rate, which currently total 3,500,000 rubels ($1,640).

A total of 13 youths were charged with disorder in the streets in connection with an unsanctioned demonstration staged in downtown Minsk on January 10.

The trial of the remaining four – Alyaksandr Barazenka, Pavel Vinahradaw, Mikhail Subach and under 18-year-old Maksim Dashuk – was postponed to Nay 23, as it turned out that they had not yet finished studying the case material.

Opposition activists in Belarus and sympathizers throughout the world have been observing a so-called Day of Solidarity on the 16th day of each month since September 16, 2005, the anniversary of the 1999 abduction of opposition politician Viktar Hanchar and his friend, businessman Anatol Krasowski, in which high-ranking government officials are believed to have been involved.