Performance against house arrest of oppositionists held in Minsk (Photo)

• 5.02.2009, 12:20

Yesterday a performance was held in the centre of Minsk in defence of oppositional activists sentenced to house arrest for participation in the protest rally of market vendors.

The performance was held by activists of the civil campaign “European Belarus”. One of it participants came to the building of the Belarusian Philharmonic Hall on Yakub Kolas Square and sat on a stool in the middle of a square which symbolised her house. The girl was reading a book, imitating usual actions of a person in one’s apartment. However, all attempts to leave the “house” or start talking to passers-by were suppressed by four “guards standing along the perimeter. They explained to people around that the girl had been sentenced to a house arrest for participation in an oppositional rally, and she cannot leave the apartment and talk to other people, the web-site jeans-by.com reports.

After a few “violations” of the rules of the “punishment” the girl was “arrested” and led away.

Numerous passers-by who observed the performance were given leaflets with the following text:

“11 Belarusian oppositionists have been sentenced to corrective labour at the place of their permanent job for participation in a peaceful protest rally in January 2008. Alyaksei Bondar, Artsyom Dubski, Mikhail Kryvau, Mikhail Pashkevichm Ales Straltsou, Ales Charnyshou, Tatsyana Tsishkevich, Pavel Vinahradau, Mikhail Subach, Alyaksandr Barazenka, Maxim Dashuk are in fact under house arrest just for public expression of their disagreement to the policy of the regime. We demand release of the Belarusian political prisoners and stop to crackdown of the youth! One’s house mustn’t be a prison!”