Three years of jail for defending his mother: Siarhei Dziatsuk convicted in was passed in Homieĺ
Siarhei Dziatsuk. Screenshot from a video by MIA
On June 30, the Centraĺny Court of Homieĺ passed a verdict in the criminal case against Siarhei Dziatsuk who is accused of violence or threat of violence against police officers (Article 364 of the Criminal Code).
Siarhei was detained on March 24th and kept in the pre-trial detention center in Homieĺ.
Dziatsuk is the son of an ex-university teacher who was tried for a photo with a Belarusian flag.
On 5 March, Valeryia Dziatsuk's apartment was inspected on the pretext that on 28 February several women picketed near the village of Asaŭcy with white-red-white flags and a poster with the inscription "Fighters of the whole world! We congratulate you on Women's Day."
The woman did not want to give her phone to the police, and her 35-year-old son, Siarhei, who was at home at the time, defended his mother.
He was then taken to another room, where a stranger man talked to him, who introduced himself as head of the police department.
"He said that he would take care of us personally and that we'd all be in jail. It's not clear what for," Sergei commented to Radio Svaboda.
The press service of the MIA reported that the son reacted aggressively to the appearance of the officers, insulted them, and threatened them with violence. Later the man calmed down, but the materials of the inspection were sent to the investigators.
The trial began on June 29, but human rights activists do not yet have detailed information about the trial.
Today Judge Viktar Kazachok sentenced Siarhei Dziatsuk to three years of imprisonment.
