Viasna human rights defender Dzmitry Salauyou sentenced to 12 days in prison

Dzmitry Salauyou, human rights defender and member of the Board of the Human Rights Center “Viasna”, was sentenced today to 12 days of administrative detention, after Judge Anzhalika Kazlova of the Minsk District Court found him guilty of “illegal picketing” (Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code).

The charge stems from a bas-relief of the Pahonia coat of arms on his house, which the police said was a symbol of protest.

Salauyou was detained during a countrywide attack on human rights defenders and journalists on February 16, when around 90 activists were targeted in an unprecedented raid. Riot police and officers of GUBAZIK (the Interior Ministry's Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption) stormed his house near Minsk. They broke down his front door without warning. The premises were searched and IT equipment and documents were seized.