Barysau: Belarusian and Ukrainian football fans sentenced to fines and arrest

As RFE/RL learned at the Police Bureau of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee, 41 people were taken to the Barysau District Police Department after the football match between the national teams of Belarus and Ukraine in the evening of October 9. 16 people were released after identification, 25 (including 14 citizens of Ukraine) – received various charges: disorderly conduct (Article 17.1), drinking alcohol in public (Article 17.3) and propaganda or public demonstration of Nazi symbols (Article 17.10). All in all, 32 violation reports were drawn up on 29 people.

Some of the fans who were charged with using obscene language (Article 17.1) were actually detained before the match for carrying Ukrainian flags. During the football match, fans waved Belarusian and Ukrainian national flags, chanted patriotic slogans and sang a popular song about Vladimir Putin.

At 11 a.m. on October 10 Judge Samuseva started considering the administrative cases of the Ukrainian citizens at the Barysau District Court. The Ukrainian consul came to watch the proceedings.

Ukrainian citizens Yuri Chebolyuk, Yuri Olkhovych, Ostap Lyshchuk, Andriy Polishchuk, Denys Tymofeyiv, Yana Vasyl'kova and Vyacheslav (surname unknown) were sentenced to 5 days of arrest. Oleksandr Lopanov was sentenced to 10 days of arrest, allegedly for having a sticker of Celtic cross on his clothes. Yuri Netsky, detained for wearing a T-shirt “Glory to the Nation!” was sentenced to a fine of 1,050,000 rubles, as well as Bohdan Yaremchuk. Andriy Delyura was sentenced to a fine of 1.5 million rubles.

12 Belarusian fans were fined 600,000 rubles each.

Three Ukrainian fans were released after the direct intervention of President of the Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko. The Ukrainian consul stated that the Embassy would file a protest note to the Belarusian MFA concerning the mass detention of Ukrainian citizens on the territory of Belarus.

As reported by a journalist of “Nasha Niva” Iryna Arakhouskaya, she was detained by the riot police, who made her delete the photos of the detention of Artsiom Babounikau, who was detained for lighting a firework. Three girls were detained for Ukrainian symbols. A football fan from Mozyr Uladz Lobakh was detained for a white-red-white scarf. He managed to report that about 30 people were kept in the police wan together with him.

According to the information of “Nasha Niva”, some of the detainees were guarded to the Barysau District KGB Department.