Russian human rights activist deported from Belarus expects reaction from Kremlin

A Russian human rights activist Yuri Dzhibladze detained in Minsk along with 4 more Russian citizens, hopes for reaction from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Russia and the highest leadership of the country.

Yuri Dzhibladze is a member of the Presidential Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights. The Council is set to push for defence of the Russian citizens’ rights at the territory of the “union state” through the Russian-Belarusian human rights commission, which work is planned to be restarted, RIA Novosti informs.

On Wednesday Belarusian policemen detained 5 Russian human rights activists in the headquarters of Viasna human rights organisation, where a presentation of the report on the events which took place on 19 December 2010 on Independence Square, was to take place. Later Russian human rights activists were released. Russian citizens Victoria Gromova and Alexander Mnakatsanyan, were ordered to leave Belarus within 24 hours. Gromova was put on the black list of persons banned entry to the country till March 31m 2012, while Mnakatsanyan has been banned entry to Belarus till May 31, 2013. Among the detainees there were Dzhibladze and Irina Paykacheva, a Russian citizen.

According to the head of the Presidential Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov, “existence of some black list of Russian citizens banned entry to Belarus is a blatant violation of the “union” agreement between Russia and Belarus.”

“We believe that the authorities of Belarus must take steps to guarantee protection of Russian citizens’ rights at their territory. We are set to demand solving this problem through the Russian-Belarusian commission which we plan to reinstate,” Fedotov said.

He has also noted that members of the Council are indignant at the detention of their colleague Dzhibladze in Minsk.

In his turn, Dzhibladze told to RIA Novosti that he had not been blacklisted and not required to leave Belarus within 24 hours.

As said by the human rights activist, law-enforcers of Belarus stated that they were searching for boxes with explosives allegedly. “In reality, they were not interested by boxes at all. When they entered the office, they did not search for them,” he underlined.

Dzhibladze called upon the Russian authorities to respond to the events. “It is not a private affair of Alexander Mnakatsanyan or Victoria Gromova… This case should cause reaction of the Russian authorities… To our mind, reaction of the Russian Foreign Ministry is needed… we would like to have such a reaction of the Russian authorities, and probably even not from the Foreign Ministry, but from the top leadership,” he stated.

It is not the first detention of Russian human rights activists in Belarus. Earlier Russian human rights activists Ivan Kandratenko and Andrei Yurov were detained by Belarusian authorities: Yurov in a train, Kondratenko – in a Minsk court where he observed the trial over persons involved in the “mass riots” case. The both were ordered to leave Belarus within 24 hours.