Hrodna: 5 Days of Arrest to Activist of Milinkevich’s Headquarters Vadzim Saranchukou
On 2 March in Hrodna Vadzim Saranchukou, member of the board of Hrodna branch of BPF Party, an activist of the electoral headquarters of Aliaksandr Milinkevich, was sentenced to five days of jail. At about 9.30 a.m. on 1 March Vadzim Saranchukou got out of his house and almost immediately was seized by the police. At the police station the police searched his belongings, but didn’t find anything illegal. After this they composed a report with enumeration of several disorderly conducts Mr Saranchukou had allegedly committed, such as the use of foul expressions, insult of the police and urinating in a street. Then they took Mr Saranchukou to Hrodna Kastrychnitski Borough Court. There he solicited for advocatory services and the trial was postponed to 3.30 p.m. After this it was delayed for several times. At the court hall the present members of Milinkevich’s headquarters Edvard Dmukhouski, Maksim Hubarevich and Siarhei Malchyk received summons for interrogation at Hrodna Leninski Borough Board of Internal Affairs. A similar summons had been given to Andrei Pachobut. The human rights activist Viktar Sazonau, who was also present at the court, was given the summons to come to the road police with his car. All those persons were summonsed to the police for 2 March - most probably they were issued with the aim to disrupt the possible travel of these persons to the meeting with Aliaksandr Milinkevich in Minsk.
When a defense lawyer arrived, the judge Liudmila Zhuk postponed the trial to 2 March. The judge didn’t satisfy the solicitation for Mr Saranchukou’s release from custody. The police took him to a detention center. On 2 March the court sentenced him to 5 days of arrest.
