On the evening of August 22,
the now ex-political prisoner has arrived at the bus station Uskhodni.
He was behind bars from December 2010.
More than a hundred people met the now ex-
political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich at the bus station Uskhodni on
late evening of August 22 in Minsk. He and five other political
prisoners was pardoned by the head of state and came out of the Mahiliou
prison. Mr Statkevich had been in prison since December 2010. In 2011,
he was sentenced to 6 years in prison "for organizing mass disorder."
There were plenty of journalists at the Usckhodni bus station,
including those from Russian TV channels. There was also the wife of Mikalai Statkevich, Maryna Adamovich,
his friends and colleagues, many activists. Above the crowd waved the
white-red-white flag. Minibus from Mahiliou with Statkevich arrived
late. "Long live Belarus!" shouted Statkevich. Former political prisoner
thanked everyone for their support and stressed that he did not write a
petition for pardon. "Hero!" - shouted the crowd.
"I will keep on doing what I did -- work for free Belarus," said Mikalai Statkevich
about his plans. But in the coming days he will meet with relatives.
Later, he is going to meet with the leaders of oppositionnal
organizations. "The situation is a stalemate. There is no strategy,"
said Statkevich. He also said he was not going to leave Belarus.
Also Statkevich told reporters he did not expect that Lukashenka
would release him before the election. But, apparently, "there is no
money in the country," he said.
Young Front calls on all candidates who consider themselves to be pro-democratic to withdraw from the “elections”.
It is said in the statement published on the organisation's website. “Taking
into account the fact that political prisoners, who were convicted for
the 2010 elections, remain in jails, running in the elections without
the release of political prisoners is not only disgraceful. Such
behaviour allows the Lukashenka regime to take new political hostages
without worries. The vivid example is the arrest and charges in
connection with the “graffiti case”. Young Front urges all
candidates who consider themselves pro-democratic to withdraw from the
“elections” and seek the release of political prisoners. We are
convinced that this is our common moral duty to everyone struggling for
freedom and changes in Belarus. We say that all candidates
who won't withdraw from the elections are a part of Lukashenka's
punitive regime who will share full moral responsibility for the illegal
holding of political prisoners in jails. At the open
convention of Young Front on September 12, activists will discuss the
strategy of countering the so called opposition candidates if they don't
withdraw from the campaign. The moral prostitutes who consider
themselves to be democratic and discredit the opposition in the eyes of
millions of people who support changes pose a greater threat to Belarus
than Lukashenka and henchmen of his regime,” the statement says.
There is now available a Youtube video, reportedly from an unofficial nudist beach at the Minsk sea. Its author, Oleg Dogtor posted it on August 8. Later on there appeared a full Youtube video - you can watch it here.
According to him, the riot police was called to the beach by a 45
year old woman with children. She did not like that at this informal
nudist beach a woman next to her was topless. According to the author of
the video, first arrived two riot policeman who ordered the woman to
get her things.
A girl tried to intercede, which was later grabbed and gragged by
riot police on the sand. Her boyfriend or husband on crutches with a
broken leg tried to find out what was going on when the riot police
pushed and hit him as well. According to the author of the video, the
police even took out pepper sprays. Soon help arrived of five more riot
police officers.
As a result, the girl and her boyfriend on crutches left the beach in
an ambulance. About five people from those who defended the girl were
taken away by the police.
Belsat TV published a video titled “No freedom without solidarity”
that shows contrasts of life in Belarus: widow-dressing holidays and
optimistic reports by state-owned media on the one hand, political
prisoners and repression against dissidents on the other hand.
According to Viasna human rights centre, six political prisoners are held in Belarus behind bars: former presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich, activist Yury Rubtsou, anarchists Mikalai Dziadok and Ihar Alinevich, as well as Yauhen Vaskovich and Artsiom Prakapenka, who were jailed for attacking the KGB office in Babruisk. Illusion and reality: Contrasts of life in Belarus - Charter'97 :: News from Belarus - Belarusian News - Republic of Belarus - Minsk
12 days in a temporary detention facility, $600 of fine
and 5 years’ ban on entering Belarus – these are the consequences of the
illegal crossing the border on a paraglider.
A dweller of the Polish city of Bialystok, Marcin Duszynski, who by mistake landed in Belarus in the end of July, gave an interview to Radio Racyja. - Why did you decide to fly in this direction?
-
We always fly downwind, in order to fly as far as possible. And on that
day there was the wind from the west, exactly in the direction of
Belarus. It is our sport, we want to fly as far as possible. I saw the
border, but I wanted to fly as far as possible. - And how does this flight looks like technically? Do you have any gadgets with you, do you see the border is getting nearer?
-
Yes, we have devices that show zones of flight, for example, towns on
the border, but these maps are not exact. There was exactly a failure of
technical equipment, as when I landed, I was sure I was on the Polish
side – two kilometres before the border. The border is visible, but I
thought that there was some space before me still. - While being in the air, didn’t you see you were crossing the border?
- No, I didn’t see that. From the air all roads and power lines in the forest looked the same. - And at what height did you cross the border?
-
I was at the height of about 450 metres over the border. In that spot, a
kilometer and a half from the border, I exactly turned and landed, as
there was another meadow in front of me. I was sure it was a territory
of Poland still, but I didn’t want to fly there, as I was sure I was
able to reach it. - What did you do after landing?
-
It looked in the following way: I landed, called my friends, boasted of
my result, as it was my record – 72 kilometres. I asked how I could
return, I said I was near the village of Zaleszany, and I was going to
walk there. My friend wrote me that a bus was to come to Szymki in an
hour, and it was five kilometres away. I packed my things, ate, called
my friends. Until I reached the village, an hour and a half passed. On
my way I asked young people were I was, and they answered in Belarus. I
went to the village, met a man aged about 50. I said I had problems, as I
am a Pole and I had no documents, a visa, I had flown by a paraglider,
and I would like to solve that problem somehow. He scratched his head,
called border guards, at the same time my friends were looking for
contact details of our Polish border service, in order to ask how to
solve the problem. - How were you detained?
- Two
border guards arrived, they asked whether I had a visa, documents, and
how come I was there. It took some time to explain that I had flown by a
paraglider. They did not believe it could be packed in a rucksack.
There was information that they saw me crossing the border. They had a
right to shoot, but fortunately, it hasn’t happened. - Where were you kept?
-
First I was taken to the building of the border group for
interrogation, than at night I was taken to Hrodna to the isolation
detention facility of border guards. - When were you told that you were detained and what charges you faced?
-
They said from the start I was detained, as I had crossed the border
and entered the airspace illegally, the investigation was to last for a
few days. - What incarceration conditions in the detention facility are?
-
I would compare the conditions to a cellar. Several beds, a window
somewhere near the ceiling. There were several Tajiks in the cell first,
one of them had been flying paraglider once. He was released the next
day. Then I had a cellmate, a Tajik, who spent 12 days with me, until
the end. We could listen to a radio for one hour a day. There was
interrogation on the first day, it was Thursday, and I landed on
Wednesday. On Friday I already received a statement that I would be
fined, $100, and banned from entering Belarus for 5 years, and I was to
leave the country on Monday. On Monday the decision was changed, as
there had been a mistake there, I was to be released on
Wednesday-Thursday, but as I learnt later, an authorized officer was
absent, who could have signed the relevant documents, so it lasted until
Monday. - Did you have a chance to contact your family and friends?
-
After the flight I talked to my friend, he knew where I was, and
informed my family. On Monday the consul was there, he asked whether I
wanted anything, or whether I had any problems, for instance, with
guards. From the beginning there were questions: “Where is the engine?”
“How does it work?” “Why have you flown here?” There were some
suspicions of espionage, drugs trafficking. All people there were very
pleasant, favorably disposed, they just laughed that I am the third or
the fourth Pole who tried to cross the border in this direction, as
usually people do that in an opposite direction. There were several
persons with Polish ancestors, we even spoke Polish. - Are you facing anything from Polish border guards?
-
The fine was changed from $100 to $600, as $100 is a fine for crossing
the border on foot, and crossing in the airspace is more expensive. I am
to give explanations here, but it is not a problem, I face a fine up to
PLN 500. And it should be considered that in Belarus, when crossing the
border illegally for the second time, one faces criminal prosecution,
not administrative one, and I could be imprisoned then. It was an
exciting adventure. There were many people from Iran, Tajikistan, Cuba,
from Africa. They were not really feeling bored, many of them were
waiting for an answer about their future for two months and more. My
story ended well.
The 26-year-old resident of the Polish city of
Bialystok crossed the border near Syamyonauskae Lake. He returned to
Poland on Monday. After these accidents the Polish border service
established a 5-kilometre zone on the border with Belarus, where
paraglider flights are banned.
Сёння ў
Белгародскай вобласці была знішчана першая партыя санкцыйных прадуктаў:
на палігоне цвёрдых бытавых адходаў бульдозерамі было разціснута каля
10 тон забароненага да ўвозу ў Расію імпартнага сыру. У прэс-службе
ўпраўлення Рассельгаснагляду па Белгародскай вобласці заявілі, што сыр
невядомай вытворчасці быў затрыманы на расійскай мяжы напрыканцы
мінулага месяца, паведамляе Znak.com.
Працэс знішчэння 10 тон сыру заняў каля гадзіны. “Сыра было вельмі шмат — цэлы КАМАЗ. Частка — у скрынках і частка без пакавання. Яго разціснулі 45-тонным катком”, — распавялі ў прэс-службе ведамства.
На мінулым тыдні Уладзімір Пуцін падпісаў указ аб
знішчэнні на мяжы РФ забароненых да ўвозу прадуктаў. Шэраг экспертаў і
палітыкаў выказаліся за перагляд такога падыходу да санкцыйных
прадуктаў.
Акрамя таго, жыхары Расіі таксама выступаюць супраць знішчэння
харчовых прадуктаў. На сайце Change.org з’явілася петыцыя са зваротам да
Пуціна, у якой прапануецца не знішчаць прадукты, а раздаваць іх людзям,
якія жывуць у нястачы, праз дабрачынныя арганізацыі. Пад зваротам на
дадзены момант падпісаліся амаль 264 тыс жыхароў Расіі.
Фота: znak.com
Hrodna Province Court has cancelled the decision of
Vaukavysk District Court of July 17. The court cancelled the preventive
supervision of ex-political prisoner Mikalai Autuhovich back then, Radio Liberty reports.
The hearing was appointed for August 6 but it was suddenly moved to
August 5 on Tuesday evening. Autuhovich asked to postpone the hearing
because he had no time to discuss everything with his lawyer. However,
the hearing was sonly postponed for 4 hours and the lawyer did not even
manage to arrive from Minsk in time.
Autuhovich committed only one violation during his preventive
supervision – he left the city. However, it was done for the purpose of
work (his boss asked him to do it). The violation was annulled due to
the expiration of the period of limitation on August 1. Moreover,
Autuhovich has already paid a fine for it.
All this has not helped change the judges’ opinion: they have
cancelled the decision pronounced by Vaukavysk District Court and
restored the preventive supervision for the former political prisoner.
Vaukavysk District Court will reconsider his case in order to prolong
his preventive supervision term on August 6, Autuhovich believes. The
term expires on Thursday.
Photo: svaboda.org
Kilde: http://euroradio.fm/en/mikalai-autuhovich-back-preventive-supervision
More than a hundred people met the now ex-
political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich at the bus station Uskhodni on
late evening of August 22 in Minsk. He and five other political
prisoners was pardoned by the head of state and came out of the Mahiliou
prison. Mr Statkevich had been in prison since December 2010. In 2011,
he was sentenced to 6 years in prison "for organizing mass disorder."
