Vitsebsk: Siarhei Kavalenka's brother fined as well

Viktar Kalbun, Judge of the Pershamaiski District Court of Vitsebsk, found Vital Kavalenka guilty of 'disorderly conduct'. Vital was fined the same sum of money as his brother, 105,000 Belarusian rubles (about $33).

Siarhei Kavalenka was accused of the same thing on 7 June. The brothers tried to convince the court they hadn’t violated the law on 8 May, when reports on using obscene language were drawn against them. Policemen met the brothers in Vesta store #45 and guarded them to the police department, RFE/RL reports.

A shop assistant said she didn’t remember the events on that day, but policemen insisted that they had witnessed the fact of 'disorderly conduct'.

According to the Vitebsk oppositionist Siarhei Kavakenka, who got several fines and arrests for actions with national white-red-white flags, he and his brother were detained preventively in order national flags not to appear in Vitsebsk on Victory Day. The brother spent the night of 8-9 May in custody at the police department. In the morning, they were transferred to a detention facility, and at noon on May 10 they were released.

The trial of the Kavalenka brothers started on 24 May and ended only on 10 June. The activists think the judge didn’t hurry to deliver a verdict and his judgment was rather mild, as there was no need to isolate them in a detention facility any more.