Brest: Three 'Hramada' Activists Detained after Trial of Pavel Seviarynets

On 22 August Leninski district court of Brest heard a case against the political leader Pavel Seviarynets. Mr. Seviarynets was charged with repeated violation of the rules of holding mass actions within 1-year term (part 3 of article 23.34 of the Administrative Code) and sentenced to 15 days of jail. 

After the trial, at about 6.20 p.m., the police detained three activists of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada. The chair of Brest city BSDP office Hanna Kanius, a deputy chair of Brest regional BSDP office Valiantsina Lazarenkau and a party activist Andrei Valchok were standing at the court entrance. They were approached by the police, who proposed them to go to Leninski district police department of Brest and said that in the case of refusal they would forcibly drive the activists there.

According to Lazarenkau, the policemen tried to find whether the detainees had any relation to the world ‘shame’ written in 1-meter letters on the pavement at the court entrance, where Kanius, Lazarenkau and Valchok were standing. The police also demanded from the detainees to sign official warnings about possibility of punishment for such ‘violation’. Kanius and Valchok signed the warnings, whereas Lazarenkau refused to do it.