Oppositionists get arrested for 20 day before IIHF World Championship

Activists are thrown in prisons for the time of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk.

Minsk Lenin district court arrested a Young Front activist Mikhail Muski for 20 days. Radio Svaboda learnt about that from a human rights activist Nasta Lojka. The activist’s trial was led by the judge Mikhail Khoma.

Minsk Frunze district court sentenced a Young Front activist Mikalaj Dziemidzienka to a 20-day arrest under two articles of the Code on Administrative Conduct of the Republic of Belarus. The oppositionist’s case was considered by judge Dzmitry Lukashevich. The activist said that he had been detained the day before at the entrance to the house where he lives. During the trial the people in mufti, who had brought him to court, threatened independent journalists with administrative persecution for alleged disorderly conduct.

A Homiel activist Andrej Cianiuta got arrested by judge Anatol Sotnikau for 10 days: 3 days for alleged fault language, 7 days for alleged insubordination to police.

A Young Front activist Dzmitry Kramianietski faces charges for alleged disorderly conduct (article 17.1 of the Code on Administrative Conduct). The judge on the trial is Mikhail Khoma. The trial has been postponed until the second half of the day.

The Young Front activists were detained yesterday evening. Mikalaj Dziemidzienka and Mikhail Muski were kept before trial in the jail in Akrescina Street, Dzmitry Kramianietski – at the Lenin district police department, Andrej Cianiuta – in jail in Homiel.

We would remind that within the recent two weeks police detained about 20 opposition activists. Human rights activists link the arrests to the Ice Hockey World Championship being held in Minsk.