Pavel Levinau demands change of restraint for Haidukou
Vitsebsk
human rights activist addressed such a request to a judge of the
Vitsensk Regional Court
Halina Urbanovich, who leads the trial on the
"espionage case". Pavel
Levinau also filed a complaint to
the Investigative Committee and applied to the
head of the Vitsebsk Regional Court Miakali Khamichonak concerning
the noticed violations.
Pavel Levinau tried to get an
appointment with the head of the court on 12 June, but Mikalai
Khamichonak was away on a mission. The audience took place on 13
June.
"I showed Mr. Hamichenka
the monitoring of violations for 12 June. The
head of the court said he regretted about his absence and agreed with
some of my remarks. In particular, the closed character of the trial
over Haidukou was to have been announced properly: there was no
information that the case would be considered in a closed session.
That's why some trouble occured: some court officials even said they
were ready to admit all interested people to the trial, as far as it
was open. In fact, it was closed, and I advised Mr. Khamichonak to
hang out somewhere near the court schedule a written explanation why
it was necessary to close a trial of a great public intrerest. I also
told how rudely the policemen who guarded the building behaved."
Mr.
Levinau filed an appeal to the Investigation Committee against the
outrageous behavior of
the police guards. According to him, the chief
of the board of public security of the
Kastrychnitski DPD A. Kamarou was to be held
criminally responsible for the fact that the
police interfered with the work of journalists
and threatened them
with arrest.
The human rights defender
also filed an appeal to Judge Halina Urbanovich, asking to change the
restraint to Andrei Haidukou:
"I
believe that the presumption of innocence is
violated in this case. Why does a man whose
guilt has not been proven, is kept in a "cage"
during the trial? And why is he kept in custody at all?. I think that
Judge Halina Urbanovich, who conducts the
trial of Andrei
Haidukou,
violates his rights,"
commented the human rights defender.
According to Pavel
Levinau, the trial was scheduled for two days – 12 and 13 June,
whereas Andrei's mother Volha Haidukova was
told it would last for five days. She hopes to be summoned to the
trial as a witness and she would see her son for the first time in 7
months. Before this, she was thrice denied a meeting with
him.
Andrei Haidukou is charged under two artcles of the
Criminal Code, Part of Art. 14 "Criminal attempt" and Part
1 of Article 356 "High treason", for which he can be
sentenced to 7-15 years of imprisonment. The operative part of the
verdict to Andrei Haidukou will be read at an open court session.
Andrei Haidukou was arrested on 8 November in Minsk.
According to the official information of the KGB it was allegedly
done "while he was making a hiding with information which could
may be relevant to foreign intelligence services". Since then,
he was kept in custody: mostly in the KGB remand prison in Minsk with
the exception of one month for which he was transferred to the
Vitsebsk remand prison, and the last days, when he was again
transferred to Vitsebsk for the trial.
His friends and
relatives consider the charges of espionage to be absurd and consider
it as an attempt of the KGB to intimidate opposition activists.