Trial against Vitebsk BPF activists lasts 9 hours

Vitebsk's Kastrychnitski district court sentenced BPF party activists Kanstantin Smolikau and Leanid Autukhou to five days in custody on March 25.

BelaPAN has learnt it from Tatyana Sevyarynets, a coordinator of the organising committee to found the Belarusian Christian Democracy party.

The activists were detained on March 22 and remained in custody until trial. The trial against them lasted 9 hours.

Sevyarynets says BCD activists Alyaksei Kushchuk and Stanislau Laurenau were detained near Victory Square in Vitebsk on March 25. They were left for two hours in the Kastrychnitski's district police department and were fingerprinted. A police report was made accusing Kishchuk and Laurenau of stealing a bottle of vodka from a shop.  Both were released, the BCD coordinator says.

On March 25, the road police stopped a car carrying four BCD and BPF activists, who were going to attend the trial against Smolikau and Autukhou in the Kastrychnitski district court. Driver Ales Kuznyatsou received a ticket for an unsafe lane change and carrying two unbelted backseat passengers. All activists were let go.