Independent local council candidate beaten by militia in Belarus

Local council candidate Yauheny Vaskovich from Babruisk, a correspondent of the newspaper “Bobruiski Kuryer”, was beaten for a national white-red-white flag.

BCD member Yauheny Vaskovich, a candidate to the Babruisk city council, visited an ice hockey match US–Belarus on April 18 and raised a national white-red-white flag there. About seven minutes later, militia officers came up to him, twisted his arms and took out of the ice arena. As the website bchd.info reports, the candidate was hit in the kidneys when being pulled out.

“I couldn’t have the beating recorded,” Yauheny Vaskovich told. “They also hit me in the leg with a boot, so I am going to record the blows.”

The journalist was guarded in a militia department and searched without presence of witnesses. Militiamen drew up a report saying Vaskovich had violated public order during the match, disturbed other people, misconducted, used the forbidden symbols. Then twp girls were invited as witnesses, they didn’t read the report but signed it. The BCD member spent the night in the militia department.

The trial was held at 11 a.m. April 19. As Vaskovich mentioned in the report, he hadn’t misconducted, the judge suspended the trial until the people, whom Vaskovich had hindered from watching the match, were found.

Yauheny Vaskovich was set free. He prepares a complaint to the city prosecutor at actions of the militia.