Activist of ‘European Belarus’ Alexander Atroshchankau arrested for 15 days
Today in the afternoon Tsentralny district court of Minsk has sentenced Alexander Atroshchankau, activist of the campaign, to 15 days of jail. He had trial in the Tsentralny district. The activist was taken to the court from the KGB Minsk and Minsk region directorate.
As Alexander’s wife Darya said to the Charter’97 press center, he was called to the Mink and Minsk region KGB department in the frames of investigation over seizure of office equipment and private archives from Atroshchankau last autumn. A KGB investigator invited officers of the Tsentralny district police department of Minsk to give explanations on the case. They came with a report on administrative offence, drawn up against Alexander on 22 April in Tsentralny district court during the reading of the sentence to participants of the trial of 14.
The democratic activist was accused of ‘insult’ of judge Alena Illina, who sentenced Andrei Kim to 1.5 years in penal colony and other participants of the action of entrepreneurs, held in Minsk on 10 January, to correctional labor and fines.
So, there was no proceeding on the case because of which Mr. Atroshchankau had been called to the KGB, and the activist was guarded to the Tsentralny district court of Minsk, where he was sentenced to 15-day arrest for ‘contempt of court’ according to article 24.1 of the Administrative Code.
It should be noted that the KGB said on the request of Atroshchankau’s wife Darya ‘this citizen hadn’t entered the building today’. Only after Darya, with the help of lawyer Vera Stramkouskaya, filed a complaint a person disappeared, Lieutenant Colonel Raman Loznikau entered the KGB receiving room and said Alexander Atroshchankau had been guarded to the Tsentralny district court of Minsk.
Darya thinks if she hadn’t filed a complaint, she might have known nothing about her husband’s destiny. ‘It seems to me they were just playing for time. How can KGB not to find a person for two hours? I was explained the situation only after I had filed a complaint on a missing person. Then a lieutenant colonel said Alexander was in the Tsentralny district court. I hurried there but the judgment had been already delivered. The trial was conducted without a lawyer, without witnesses, Darya said.
