Attack on activist Yulia Styapanava

People in plain clothes attacked a European Belarus activist and cut her hair on the night of January 14.

Yulia Styapanava was returning home at 0:45 a.m. Some men attacked her near her home.

“I was returning home. Two men appeared from around the corner. One of them twisted my arms, the other one cut my hair. They then threw me in snow. They threatened me and demanded me to stop collecting aid for political prisoners. I did it on social networking websites,” Yulia Styapanava told charter97.org.

Styapanava already received anonymous threats, supposedly from the secret services. Her Facebook account was hacked several times and she received insulting letters on mail.

In May 2012, the activist lost her job at  Scandinavian & UK Machines. Her labour agreement expired on December 31, but Styapanava was informed on Skype on May 29 that the agreement with her was terminated. She was given on explanations. Before the dismissal, she received a short term in custody over participation in pickets to support political prisoners.