Sculptor Henik Loika detained for staging picket on International Mother Language Day
Action by Henik Loika outside High School No. 4 in Minsk
Henik Loika, sculptor and campaigner for the protection of the Belarusian language, was detained by the police this morning, after staging a picket outside a high school in Minsk, where his daughter is a student. The action was meant to attract public attention to the discrimination of Belarusian-speaking schoolchildren.
The activist reportedly displayed a banner “Happy International Mother Language Day. High School No. 4 was the Last Belarusian School”. Although officially considered as a Belarusian-speaking, in reality the school is becoming more and more Russian-oriented. According to Henik Loika, many teachers can hardly speak any Belarusian and encourage the students to speak Russian after classes.
The activist’s wife, Alena, says her husband is currently in Frunzenski District Police Department.
