Vintsuk Viachorka Complains against Beating of His Son

On 2 September the head of the BPF Party Vintsuk Viachorka complained to Minsk Tsentralny Borough Prosecutor’s Office against the illegal actions of the police who detained and beat his minor son Franak during the action of 1 September “We Want to Learn in Belarusian!”.

The complain reads:

“At about 4.05 p.m. on 1 September 2004 my son Frantsishak Viachorka, born in 1988 was detained by workers of special police forces in plain clothes at the entrance of the tube station “Kastrychnitskaya” near the House of Trade Unions. He was taken to Minsk Tsentralny Borough Board of Internal Affairs. During the detention the policemen didn’t introduce themselves and didn’t explain the motives of their actions. My son found out they were policemen only when they took him to Tsentralny BBIA. During the detention they used violence – twisted his arms, kicked in legs, beat while pulling into the bus. The bus had no signs that could show his relation to police. The policemen tore my son’s clothes – shirt and trousers, which now are unsuitable for wearing. Together with him the police pulled Stefanovich Valiantsin Kanstantsinavich and Afnahel Yawhen Iharavich. The police detained them for more than two hours without composing any detention reports and then let go. During the detention my son managed to find out the surname of one of the persons who detained him – Lipninski, worker of the eighth platoon of special police forces of Minsk City BIA. One more policeman in red T-shirt, who took part in the detention, had the nick “Marazilnik” (“Deep-Freezer”). In the street and in they bus they insulted my son with foul language and threatened him.

It’s worth mentioning that the reasons for the detention weren’t explained to my son. Besides, the detention report wasn’t composed, by which the demands of article 240 of the Code of Administrative Violations of Belarus were violated. Despite the demands of this article, neither my wife nor I were informed about the detention.

I think that the actions of the police towards my son are illegal, they excess the duty powers of the police and violate the Law of the Republic of Belarus “About police”, the norms of the Code of Administrative Violations of the Republic of Belarus and the legal rights of children. The police had no legal grounds to use force towards my son that are specified in article 19 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “About police”.

They also illegally confiscated the personal belongings of my son, without composing any confiscation report. He didn’t resist to the police.

Being guided by the abovementioned facts and article 6 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “About police” and the Law of the Republic of Belarus “About Prosecution” I ask:

1. To conduct prosecutorial check-up of the mentioned facts;
2. To draw the persons guilty to the responsibility, defined by the law;
3. To interrogate the witnesses of the illegal detention of my son Stefanovich Valiantsin Kansantsinavich and Afnahel Yawhen Ryhoravich in the process of the check-up.”