Viasna human rights activist Dzmitry Salauyou detained again, named suspect in criminal case

In the evening of March 1, human rights activist and member of the Board of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" Dzmitry Salauyou was detained in Minsk. The day before Salauyou was released after serving 12 days of administrative detention.

He was taken to the Investigative Committee’s city office, where he was interrogated as a suspect in a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code (training or other preparation of persons to participate in group actions that grossly violate public order, as well as funding or other material support of such activities). After the interrogation, the activist was released but remained under travel restrictions.

During a countrywide attack on human rights activists and journalists on February 16, riot police and GUBAZIK officers broke into Dzmitry Salauyou’s house near Minsk and searched and confiscated equipment and documents. The search warrant said the raid was part of a criminal case under Art. 342.

The human rights activist was detained after the search. He later said he was beaten during the arrest and in a minibus on the way to the detention center.

On February 18, Salauyou was sentenced to 12 days in jail under Art. 23.34 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. The sentence stemmed from a concrete relief of the Pahonia emblem on the wall of the activist’s house, which Judge Anzhalika Kazlova of the Minsk District Court said was “picketing”. On February 28, he was released from a temporary detention center.

On March 2, the Minsk Regional Court confirmed the sentence in an appeal hearing.