Dzmitry Dashkevich fined over breach of police supervision

The Pershamaiski District Court of Minsk considered today administrative charges brought against former political prisoner Dzmitry Dashkevich.

The activist was accused of violating restrictions of police supervision (Art. 24-12 of the Administrative Code). As a result, Dzmitry Dashkevich was sentenced to a fine of 1.3 mln rubles.

The defendant did not appeared in court, saying he was at work. In addition, according to Dashkevich, the courts are staffed with people "who have repeatedly fabricated cases" and he does not think it necessary to prove his innocence to these people, BelaPAN reports.

Dzmitry Dashkevich received a warning for violation of the rules of serving preventive supervision after did not appear in the criminal supervisory inspection of Pershamaiski district on December 19, where he is expected to check in on the first, third and fourth Thursday of each month.

As explained by Dashkevich, he forgot that the third Thursday of the month fell on December 19. The next morning he receive a call from the inspector who proposed to come to the police department, which Dashkevich immediately did, the policemen charged him with a violation of the preventive supervision.

According to the opposition politician, in these cases (if a person forgets to come to the police, but he does it on the following day) no charges are usually brought. However, the inspector told Dashkevich that he was ordered to write a report by his boss.

On August 28 last year, Dzmitry Dashkevich was released from Hrodna prison No. 1 after nearly three years of imprisonment. He was arrested on the eve of the 2010 presidential election, on December 18, 2010, and initially sentenced for "particularly malicious hooliganism" and then for "willful disobedience of the requirements of the prison administration." The preventive supervision was imposed on Dashkevich for the period of six months after his release. He is forbidden to leave the place of residence from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

On November 6, Dashkevich was detained in Minsk during the Young Front’s rally staged to campaign for returning Lenin Street its historical name, Frantsyskanskay. On the same day the politician was sentenced to three days of arrest for disobeying the police. Dashkevich pleaded not guilty, saying that he was convicted on the basis of a fraudulent police report and described the actions of the authorities as "a continuation of the policy of persecution of dissenters."

On December 5, Dashkevich was warned about the possible extension and strengthening of preventive supervision in case of "further resisting police officers."