Trials against arrested Vitsebsk oppositionists postponed

• 18.01.2010, 16:04

BCD activists Ales Halavan and Valer Ramanenka have been released until February 2.

BelaPAN learnt this from Paval Sevyarynets, the co-head of the organizing committee on creating the party Belarusian Christian Democracy.

According to him, the court of the Pershamaiski district of Vitsebsk was to consider their cases on January 18. Halavan and Ramanenka were detained on January 15 and guarded to the Pershamaiski district militia department. “Halavan was detained near the polyclinic, where he had gone over his pneumonia, Ramanenka was detained near the entrance to his house,” Sevyarynets said.

The young people are accused of being drunk in public. “Halavan and Ramanenka said they needed lawyers. Besides, it was found out in the court that four white-red-white flags had been seized from them. Ramanneka was also accused of shouting “Long Live Belarus” at the moment of detention,” Sevyarynets said.

The court took a decision to release the young men until trial scheduled for February 2.

Sevyarynets also said opposition activist Taras Surhan, arrested for seven days in Vitsebsk was transferred from the detention facility to the infectious hospital. He was diagnosed with acute respiratory disease.

Oppositionists connect their detention with their recent meeting with other Vitsebsk activists, friends of Syarhei Kavalenka, who hung out a national white-red-white flag on the Christmas tree on January 7 and went under criminal investigation.

After this event, militia began to arrest Vitsebsk oppositionists and search their apartments. On January 13, militiamen searched the apartment of Syarhei Serabro, the editor of the Internet newspaper “Popular new of Vitsebsk”. Two computer cases, four old hard disk drivers, a digital compact camera, a notebook, and an 8 GB flash memory card were seized.