Belarusians in Germany: Cooperation with Lukashenka’s regime is fellowship in crimes

The Union of Belarusians in Germany offers the EU countries to suspend relations with Alexander Lukashenka and demands to punish those responsible for suicide of human rights activist Yana Paliakova.

‘On 7 March 2009 in the night the candle of life of a 36-year-old activist Yana Paliakova was out. She has become a victim of prosecution for her human rights activities. This woman has thrown out a challenge against the powerful repressive apparatus and perished. She has perished not from a bullet, or a gunshot, but from mobbing and indifference of those around. This has become possible as the Belarusian society and political opponents of the regime are silently observing the total lawlessness, thinking that won’t affect them,’ the statement of the Union of Belarusians in Germany reads.

Artsiom Dubski, Mikalai Autukhovich, Uladzimir Asipenka, Yury Liavonau are behind the bars today. What fate is prepared for them by the regime? Who will be the next?’ the statement reads.

The Union of Belarusians in Germany believes that ‘the premature death of Yana Paliakova should become the last straw that breaks the patience of the Belarusian nation’, and states that it is necessary to institute criminal proceedings against all those responsible in her premature death, to find those responsible for disappearances of Yury Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasouski, Zmitser Zavadski, and demand release of victims of political crackdown Artsiom Dubski, Mikalai Autukhovich, Uladzimir Asipenka and Yury Liavonau.

The statement also offers the counties of the European Union to suspend any relations with Alexander Lukashenka. ‘Otherwise we would consider this cooperation as a is fellowship in crimes’, the document reads.

Yana Paliakova, 36-year-old human rights activist, committed suicide in Salihorsk (Minsk region) on 6 March in the night. She was a lawyer by profession, and an activist of unregistered organization Legal Assistance to Population. She cooperated with other human rights organizations and was a member of the initiative group of Volha Kazulina (a daughter of the oppositional politician Alexander Kazulin) in the parliamentary election campaign in 2008.

On 3 March judge Burautsou of Salihorsk court found her guilty of violating article 400, part 2 of Criminal Code – ‘knowingly false delation’. In particular, she was charged with false information against a policeman and sentenced to two and a half years of restraint of freedom. Besides, under a decision of the court, she was to pay the policeman 1 mln rubles as moral damages. Yana Paliakova pleaded innocence.