Mikalai Statkievich Transferred to Home Regime from Open Jail

Mikalai Statkievich, leader of Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Narodnaia Hramada, has been sentenced to personal restraint for organization of the street demonstrations of 18 and 19 October against the falsification of the results of the parliamentary election and the referendum. He has already spent three months of personal restraint in Baranavichy, where his father lives. According to the law in the case a prisoner spent three months of personal restraint without admonitions from the administration can be transferred to home regime in the case some relatives will live with him. Recently Mr. statkievich has been allowed to live at his father’s instead of the open penitentiary institution. He has no right to leave the working place and should register at the open jail everyday. During those three months Mikalai Statkievich wasn’t allowed to go to Minsk and visit his family even once.

In his interview to RFE/RL the oppositional politician called three main reasons that could possibly result in the decision to transfer him to home regime:
-- The social-democratic partners of Narodnaia Hrama in the Western Europe started actively reacting to my imprisonment. The second reason is of local nature. I feel that during the last months the local authorities have got tired of controlling m. They hope that the number of foreign visitors, whom they are very afraid of, will decrease. The third reason is psychological: the authorities are afraid to create the image of the opposition leaders as dignified and fearless people who can sacrifice.