Entrepreneur won actions against policemen

Judges haven’t found in reports of the local city police department proofs of a public activist Alyaksandr Vasilyeu’s being guilty. The participant of the campaign “For Free Development of Enterprise” has won actions two times. He disclosed lies in reports not only of policemen, but of their commander as well.

Pinsk dweller Alyaksandr Vasilyeu is 35. He has secondary education, experience of work at a construction in Russia, and in organizing a private industry, Bulletinonline writes.

In his comments to the courts against Alyaksandr Vasilyeu a friend of the entrepreneur, a well-known Belarusian human rights activist Valery Shchukin noted that the victory had become possible as Alyaksandr Vasilyeu banished fear of the so-called “public justice”.

“Vasilyeu has understood that policemen, most of whom graduated from a local vocational school, have no legal education. Executing orders of their commanders to persecute opposition activists, non-commissioned officers of Pinsk police make unjustifiable mistakes in reports. When one is attentive in the court, it’s possible to dispose of their charges even without a lawyer,” Valery Shchukin is convinced.

The human rights activist reminds about the court in Pinsk on February 1. Judge Tatsyana Svibovich studied the report charging Alyaksandr Vasilyeu with using foul language on January 21, when a spontaneous rally of entrepreneurs was held in front of the building of the city executive office.

Policemen arrived to the court and witnesses that Vasilyeu allegedly used foul language in Chyhunachnaya Street.

Vasilyeu asked the judge to specify the place where a patrol car was situated at that moment. The place was marked on a map. The place of the defendant’s location was marked as well. The distance between the two points was 90 metres! The court stated: “From such a distance sitting in a car it is impossible to hear a person swearing”.

On February 10 major Alyaksandr Syraezhka, the commander of the abovementioned policemen who had lost the lawsuit on February 1, continued a chase against activist Vasilyeu.

“Major Syraezhka twisted my arms near the stalls of the local market. He seized my camera and dragged me to a patrol car. Vendors and customers tried to defend me, some were making pictures,” Alyaksandr Vasilyeu said.

Finally Major Syraezhka imprisoned Vasilyeu into the basement of Pinsk police department for a week-end.

The trial over Alyaksandr Vasilyeu took place on February 11. As there was not enough evidence of guilt, the trial was postponed. While being at large, Alyaksandr found pictures proving major Syraezhka’s arbitrary actions at the market on February 10. He printed copies of the picture, pasted them to posts looking for witnesses and asked them to come to the court.

On February 18 the large court room hall of Pinks city court was filled to capacity. More than 50 individual entrepreneurs came to support their leader.

Judge Mikalay Leshchanka interrogated witnesses from the both sides, and as a result terminated the administrative case against the entrepreneur on the grounds that “evidence by policemen is contradictory. Evidence of his guilt hadn’t been established”.

As said by A. Vasilyeu himself, “two victories in a row is a good precedent. Now policemen have food for reflection. Variants of thoughtless accusations won’t work”.