Nasta Lojka: The persecution of Parfiankou and Jaromienak is the Square’s continuation

New criminal cases against former political prisoners Vasil Parfiankou and Uladzimir Jaromienak are connected to their civil activity.

That is what a human rights activist Nasta Lojka stated in an interview to Radio Racyja.

“The authorities want to keep persecuting civil society and activists in order to decrease the activity level even more, despite its being very law in Belarus anyway. Apparently, their persecution is totally linked to political motives – this is just the continuation of the events of 19 December 2010”.

Vasil Parfiankou was the first sentenced for the 19 December case. In February 2011 the court of Minsk’s Frunze district found him guilty of participating in mass disturbances and sentenced to four year in high security prison. In August 2011 he was pardoned in accordance with Lukashenka’s decree. On 5 January 2012 preventive surveillance was established after him, and in April the Investigatory Committee of Minsk’s Piershamajski district started another criminal case against Parfiankou – for violating the conditions of the preventive surveillance. In May the court of Piershamajski district found Parfiankou guilty of violating the conditions of the preventive surveillance and sentenced him to six months of arrest.

Having been released at the beginning of February this year Parfiankou claimed he was going to pursue with civil activities and “support the Belarusian movement”.

In April the court of Minsk’s Piershamajski district fined him for 800 thousand roubles for violating the preventive surveillance regime. On 17 May the same court sentenced Parfiankou for violating the preventive surveillance rules again, having fined them for 3 million roubles.

A Young Front activist Uladzimir Jaromienak was arrested in January 2011 as a suspect on the case of the “mass disturbances”. He was sentenced for 3 years. He served the punishment in a colony near Viciebsk. In August 2011 he was pardoned among others. Since then he ended up behind bars several times for administrative violations.