Participant of Process of Fourteen Paval Vinahradau amnestied
- 4.08.2009, 17:29
The activist of the civil campaign “European Belarus” has found out about that on August 3 when he visited to register himself in criminal and penal inspection.
In an interview to the website www.charter97.org Paval Vinahradau told that he learnt about the amnesty from his inspector.
“On the first Monday of the month as usual I came to register myself in the criminal and penal inspection of Zavadski district. This time my inspector said: “Vinahradau, you have been amnestied, you are free,” the activist of the “European Belarus” said.
Paval Vinahradau confesses that it was surprising information for him. “It has been long since do not understand the actions of our authorities,” he said. “Some people who have committed a crime, walk at large undisturbed, while innocent people are imprisoned for their political views”.
As said by the participant of the Process of Fourteen, the amnesty cannot be evidence that radical changes in Belarus.
“Nothing has changed in our country,” Paval Vinahradau states. “The attitude to us in the EU has changed, and unfortunately not for the better. As before, it remains not clear for what reasons Belarus had been made a member of the Eastern partnership, and why the Pope invited Lukashenka”.
The “Process of Fourteen” is a criminal case under article of 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 “Process of Fourteen” – 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.
Amnesty International human rights watchdog recognized the participants of the Process of 14 Prisoners of Conscience in 2009.
In early June the leader of the Young Democrats Mikhail Pashkevich was amnestied. In the middle of June Mikhail Subach, a person tried in the Process of Fourteen, was granted amnesty.
On June 15, 2009 an activist of “European Belarus” minor Maksim Dashuk was convicted for violation of the rules of serving the sentence and sentenced to restriction of freedom for a year and 3 months without being sent to open facilities.
On July 7, 2009 an activist of the Young Front Artsyom Dubski was convicted under the same article 415 of the Criminal Code (violation of the rules of serving the sentence) and sentenced to a year of imprisonment. At the moment he is kept in the remand prison #5 of Babrujsk.