Baranavichy: police beat 'Young Front' activists

Four national flags appeared opposite the city hall and the Baranavichy city executive committee in the morning of 23 May. After a while Yaraslau Hryshchenia, the leader of Baranavichy branch of Young Front, and his friends Artsiom Lastavetski and Piatro Ruzau were detained in the street. After the policemen searched Yaraslau and found two flags in his bag, they struck him down to the ground and started beating.

Reports on ‘using foul language’ and ‘resistance to the police’ were drawn up against all Young Front members in the police department. Judge Boichyk punished the guys with three days of arrest for ‘bad language’ and fines for ‘resistance’ Lastavetski and Ruzau were fined 350 000 Belarusian rubles (about 164 US dollars), and Yaraslau Hryshchenya – 525 000 rubles (about 246 US dollars).

As Yaraslau Hryshchenia told, the detention conditions in the detention facility were normal, but police refused to accept parcels from outside for the Young Front members on weekends.