Young Front Activists Tatsiana Bulanava, Rastsislau Pankratau, and Maksim Azarau to Be Interrogated as Witnesses
On April 18th, Mahiliou city prosecutor’s office will interrogate youth activists Tatsiana Bulanava, Rastsislau Pankratau, and Maksim Azarau as witnesses in the case against Young Front. They received summons from the rpsoecutor’s office last Friday, reports RFE/RL.
Tatsiana Bulanava and Maksim Azarau spent part of the night from April 16th to April 17th in Leninski district police department. They had been detained and charged with spreading leaflets “Freedom to Dashkevich”.
The youth activists do not deny the fact that they had spread the leaflets. At the same time, they speak about the way the police detained them. The policemen didn’t see who was posting leaflets. They stopped everybody and checked their personal belongings. Tatsiana Bulanava and Maksim Azarau refused to fulfill the demands of the policemen and were taken to a police station. There the police officers found 16 “Freedom to Dashkevich” leaflets and wanted to seize them without drawing up a report.
Tatsiana Bulanava: “I wanted them to give the leaflets back to me. The policeman began to draw up a report just not to return them. The report does not even say that they took the leaflets from us and that the leaflets are ours. It turns out that they just tore one of the leaflets from the wall and said that in case the proceedings were instigated they would use it as material evidence.”
At 5 a.m. the activists were released.
Earlier, on March 13th , Tatsiana Bulanava, Rastsislau Pankratau, and Maksim Azarau were already interrogated by Mahiliou KGB. On March 23rd Kastrychnitski court of Mahiliou sentenced Maksim Azarau to 7 days of jail. According to the police officers, the youth activists used foul language in a public place.
