Participant of ‘process of 14’ Mikhail Pashkevich amnestied

The leader of Young Democrats was familiarized with the order of the prosecutor of Biaroza district saying he was included in the amnesty.

In April 2008 Mikhail Pashkevich and other opposition activists were sentenced to two years of restraint of liberty for participation in protest actions of entrepreneurs. At first he was serving the term in Minsk, but then had to move to Biaroza (Brest oblast) to his parents, Nasha Niva reminds.

The oppositionist was included in the amnesty as he had served one third of his sentence (almost 9 months) and the article he was punished under was not serious.

Mikhail Pashkevich is the first participant of the Process of 14 to be included in the amnesty.

The ‘case of 14’ is a criminal case under Article 342 of the Criminal Code of Belarus instigated against participants of a peaceful protest rally of entrepreneurs held in Minsk on 10 January 2008.

Tsentralny district of Minsk court sentenced the youth activist Andrei Kim to 1.5 years in penal colony for participation in this rally. Kim was released in August 2008. The activist of the civil campaign European Belarus Alexander Barazenka was sentenced to a year of restraint of liberty without being sent to a correction facility; he was in remand jail since 27 October to trial on 9 December 2008. Other participants of the Process of 14 – Artsiom Dubski, Aliaksei Bondar, Mikhail Kryvau, Mikhail Pashkevich, Alexander Straltsou, Alexander Charnyshou, Tatsiana Tsishkevich, Mikhail Subach and Pavel Vinahradau– got 2 years of restraint of liberty without direction to correction facilities. Minor Maxim Dashuk was sentenced to 1.5 years of restraint of liberty.

In 2009 Amnesty International human rights organization recognized participants of the ‘process of 14’ prisoners of conscience.