Action in the memory of Yury Zakharanka ends with mass detentions
On 7 May at 6 p.m. several hundred people came to an action of commemoration of the ex-minister of interior Yury Zakharanka who has been missing for ten years already. The people were holding the photos of Zakharanka and the photos of the political prisoners Mikalai Autukhovich, Uladzimir Asipenka and Yury Liavonau.
Activists of the civil campaign European Belarus, Young Front, the BPF Party, the United Civil Party, etc. participated in the action. Among the action participants there were the leader of the European Belarus Andrei Sannikau, the coordinator of Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, the deputy head of the BPF Party Vintsuk Viachorka, the head of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Narodnaya Hramada Mikalai Statkevich, the activists of the European Belarus Alexander Atroshchankau and Zmitser Barodka, the trade union leader Alexander Bukhvostau and the former political prisoner Siarhei Skrabets, the leader of Young Belarus Artur Finkevich and participants of the hunger-strike of solidarity with Mikalai Autukhovich.
They were encircled by dozens of riot policemen and persons in mufti and were kept in the ring during all action. The activists were holding the banners ‘Freedom to political prisoners!’ and ‘Hunger-strike’, national white-red-white flags and flags of European Belarus.
On the eve of the action riot policemen in mufti detained the leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka, the activists of European Belarus Yauhen Afnahel, Maxim Serhiyets, Aliaksei Sianchyla, Raman Bahdanovich and Siarhei Kazakou. They were seized near the exit from metro and beaten.
Four activists of Young Front, who were going to a measure in the orphan’s asylum in the settlement of Stankava were detained not far from Minsk before the action and guarded to Tsentralny district police department of Minsk.
Not far from Minsk office of the BPF Party the police also detained the deputy head of Minsk BPF organization Vadzim Kanapatski and guarded him to Tsentralny district police department as well.
After the end of the action there started a new wave of detentions. Riot policemen forcedly pulled people in their buses and took them away in unknown direction. In particular, they arrested the activists of European Belarus Veranika Kashkan, Katsiaryna Liudvih, Aliaksei Liaukovich, Maxim Viniarski and Alesia Yakubouskaya, the members of the BPF Youth Anton Kalinouski, Anton Koipish, Siarzhuk Semianiuk and Iryna Smiayan-Semianiuk and the participants of the hunger-strike of solidarity Artsiom Dubski and Mikalai Dzemidzenka.
Before the action riot policeman also detained the deputy head of Minsk city organization of the BPF Party Vadzim Kanapatski. The activist was detained not far from Minsk office of the BPF Party, on the way to the commemorative action dedicated to disappearance of Yury Zakharanka.
The policemen also attempted to detain the activist of European Belarus Pavel Yukhnevich. The riot policemen tried to detain him at the metro entrance, but left the scene after the journalists pointed cameras on them.
