Alyaksandr Atroshchankau: “I called judge Illyina rascal yet in April”

• 14.11.2008, 13:58

“After judge Illyina reada judgement over the Case of 14 on April 22, I called her a rascal in warm blood. Judge Paulyuchuk sentenced me to 15 days in jail for this remark,” youth activist Alyaksandr Atroshchankau comments on loud dismissals of a number of judges in Belarus.

“Judge Yesman convicted three more participants of the Case of 14 and was going to convict Alyaksandr Barazenka, too, but considering the resent events, he won’t. Yesterday, Lukashenka called these “judges” criminals and removed from their offices,” Atroshchankau reminds.

Alyaksandr Atroshchankau has been seeking office equipment, he was seized ahead of the European March in Minsk on October 14, 2007, for a year. Officers of militia and KGB burst into a flat, leased by Atroshchankau, on a pretext of “smell of a dead body from the flat”. Neighbours allegedly complained at the smell. As the results of the search, two computers and archive materials were seized. Atroshchankau got 10 days of administrative arrest traditionally accused of “using foul language in public”.

On June 12, the activist went to the KGB department to clear out the situation. But instead of hearing of his complaint, Atroshchankau was guarded to the Tsentralny district court of Minsk, where he was sentenced to 15 days of arrest for “disrespect to court”, he demonstrated on April 22 in the Tsentralny district court against judge Alena Illyina, who sentenced Andrei Kim to 1.5 years in prison and 2 years of correctional labour and fines for other participants of the protest action of entrepreneurs held in Minsk on January 10. Alyaksandr Atroshchankau had trial without witnesses and a lawyer.