Trial of trade union leaders set for July 30

The trial of Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik, leader and chief accountant of the REP trade union, has been scheduled for July 30 at the court of Saviecki district of Minsk, palitviazni.info said quoting Komlik.

Ihar Komlik was arrested on August 2, 2017, and spent two months in pre-trial detention on charges of tax evasion (part 2, Article 243 of the Criminal Code). He was released on October 2.

Henadz Fiadynich was not arrested but remained under travel restrictions.

According to the Investigative Committee, Fiadynich and Komlik failed to declare EUR 140,000 of income.

If found guilty, both may be imprisoned for up to 7 years and their property can be confiscated.

The country’s human rights organizations say the charges are politically motivated.

“Personally, I’m prepared for the trial, although, of course, it is difficult to make any predictions,” Ihar Komlik said. “We can see how the authorities treat their opponents. When I asked to prosecute those who wrote lies about me on the Internet, the perpetrators could not be found. Thus, some can freely break the law, but those who keep within it can be easily declared criminals. I have no doubt that this case is of a political nature, and that is why the sentence will be a political one. We will take it as it is.”