Support Andrei Kim!
On April 1st, 2 p.m. Centralny court of Minsk will begin trial over the youth civic activist Andrei Kim. Andrei Kim, 22, member of the “Initiative” group, is charged with “violence or threat of violence against police officer” (Article 364 of the Criminal Code).
Andrei Kim was detained for participation in entrepreneurs’ protest actions, which took place on January 10th and 21st. The guy was sentenced to 10 days of administrative arrest. Because of the criminal prosecution he was not released but sent to pre-trial detention center in Valadarskaha Street. A road police officer claims Andrei hit him during the mass action of entrepreneurs on January 10th. However, no proofs were presented that it was Kim who beat the policeman. It is obvious that criminal prosecution of Andrei Kim is repression of the Belarusian active youth by the authoritarian regime. The regime is trying to make an ordinary criminal from a person who openly declared his civic position and took part in numerous protest actions against dictatorial system in the country. Fabricated criminal cases of the kind have become an ordinary tool of struggle with the Belarusian youth used by the authorities.
Now Andrei Kim, 22, faces up to 6 years of imprisonment (Article 364 of the Criminal Code). Besides that, later a new criminal case was instigated against 14 participants of the action on January 10th. New charges were also presented to Andrei Kim.
The youth national movement Young Front considers the criminal prosecution of Andrei Kim politically motivated. We are convinced, the cases fabricated against Andrei Kim are the revenge of the regime for his open political position and activities aimed against unlawfulness and violation of human rights in Belarus. The claims that Kim has allegedly beaten a road policeman are nothing else but mere lies of the Ministry of internal affairs. Until now there was not a single criminal case instigated against representatives of law-enforcement bodies, who beat hundreds of people, and inflicted bodily harm to peaceful participants of the peaceful protest actions. Vice versa, physical reprisals over democratic activists were often supported by top officials of law-enforcement bodies of our country, as it happened with the beating of one of Young Front leaders Zmitser Fedaruk. This way, anyone who is not afraid of expressing his civic position and participates in protest actions against dictatorship in our country, can be charged under Article 364 of the Criminal Code. Young Front calls all indifferent people to come to Centralny court of Minsk on April 1st, 2 p.m. to support Andrei Kim and protest against politically-motivated criminal cases and unlawfulness.
