Rally In Support Of Eduard Palchys Goes On Near Court Building For Second Day

Today the hearing on the criminal case of the creator 1863x site continued in the Minsk city court.

As before, the trial is held behind closed doors.

The sitting of October 14 lasted from 10a.m. to 17p.m. The participants of the rally of solidarity with Eduard Palchys were under the windows of the court all the time.

Activists with white-red-white flags came on the second day of the trial as well. Coordinator of European Belarus Maksim Viniarski, entrepreneurs' leader Ales Makayeu, director and social activist Volha Mikalaichyk were among the participants of the rally. The police started to draw up protocols 5 minutes after the beginning of the rally, Radio Svaboda reports.

On August 25, 2016, 9 articles, posted on the site, were recognized as extremist. On October 5, human rights defenders recognized Palchys a political prisoner. They analyzed the texts, for which Eduard is prosecuted, and didn’t find any extremism there.

Palchys was arrested in Russia in January 2016. On 1 June, he was extradited to Belarus. The Investigative Committee charged Palchys with two criminal offenses – “inciting racial, national or religious hatred” and “distribution of pornographic materials.” On September 30, Palchys was moved from Zhodzina to the Valadarski street prison in Minsk. Until now nobody has seen him, except his lawyer.