Picket in support of participants of Process of 14 held in Minsk (Photo)

• 17.02.2009, 8:52

An action in support of the participants of the Process of 14, sentenced to restriction of liberty for participation in protest rallies of entrepreneurs, was held in the center of Minsk.

Activists of the civil campaign “European Belarus” held a picket on Yakub Kolas square. The participants formed a human chain carrying portraits of the political prisoners in hands. None of the participants of the picket was detained.

It should be reminded that the Case of 14 is a criminal case under article 342 of the Criminal Code of Belarus, instigated against participants of the peaceful protest rally of entrepreneurs, held in Minsk on January 10, 2008.

For participation in this rally the Tsentralny district court of Minsk sentenced youth activist Andrei Kim to 1.5 years in penal colony (he was released in August 2008). The rest participants of the Case of 14 – Artsyom Dubski, Alyaksei Bondar, Mikhail Kryvau, Mikhail Pashkevich, Alyaksandr Straltsou, Alyaksandr Charnyshou, Tatsyana Tsishkevich, Mikhail Subach, and Paval Vinahradau were sentenced to 2 years of restraint of liberty without sending them to special penal facilities. Minor Maksim Dashuk got 1.5 years of restraint of liberty.

They are under house arrest in fact, under strict supervision, they may be thrown into prison for the smallest violation.

On February 13, youth activists Artsyom Dubski, convicted in the case of 14, was got off the train and arrested. Artsyom Dubski was returning from Ukraine to Minsk to take part in the unauthorized rally “Day of Love”.

Artsyom Dubski has been living in Ukraine because a criminal case against him was instigated in Belarus. The second criminal case under article 415 of the Criminal Code of Belarus was instigated against Dubski in October 2008 for violation of procedure of serving punishment, he was sentenced to for participation in a protest of entrepreneurs.