Mahiliou: Authorities Threaten to Take Children away from Krystsina Shatsikava
According to the UCP press-service
On 6 December the opposition activist Krystsina Shatsikava was visited by the police inspector on cases of minors of Kastrychnitski borough of Mahiliou. She said that somebody told her to come and see how my children lived. When Krystsina asked who asked her to do it, the inspector answered that it wasn’t any of the neighbours and Krystsina should guess who it was.
In her talk with Krystsina Shatsikava the inspector touched Lukashenka’s decree #18 of 24 November 2006 ‘About additional measures on defence of children in bad families’ that would come into force on 1 January 2007. According to it, the state can take away children from the parents who lead immoral life, are chronic alcoholics or drug addicts or ‘improperly implement their duties on upbringing their children in any other way’.
‘Everything could be applied to my case’, Krystsina Shatsikava said. ‘Involvement of children in anti-social activity’ – because I take part in opposition’s actions, Immoral life – for my detentions during such actions. I have fines for this and debts for public utilities as well. I am divorced and have to bring up my children on my own. Al it can be used to state that I can’t keep them.’
Krystsina Shatsikava has two children, 8 and 10 years old. She was often detained and beaten during opposition’s actions, including the arrest during the liquidation of the tent camp that was built in the central square of Minsk by the people who protested against the rigged election of the president.