Picketers Against Russia-Belarus Merger Condemned :: Charter'97 :: News

The Moskovsky district court of Minsk sentenced the Young Front’s leader Pavel Severinets to a 1mln665thsd rubles fine ($890) for holding a picket on October 23 in Minsk against the Belarusian-Russian integration.

On October 23 the Young Front held their picket against integration opposite the Minsk-based IBB center, which hosted the conference on the problems of the new Belarusian-Russian integration. The dissenters expressed their indignation over the fact that the Belarusian opposition is discussing with Russian SPS movement the new ways of integrating with Russia. The main goal of the picketers was their meeting with famous Russian politicians Boris Nemtsov and Irina Hakamada, who were supposed to attend the press-conference. As far as the latter never showed up (being arbitrarily deported from Belarus) the youths started collecting money for an air ticket to Moscow for the UCP leader Anatoly Lebedko.
Soon there pulled over police vehicles, which carried away Pavel Severinets, Sergei Vysotsky, Ilya Yadrentsev, Elena and Sergei Matskoit. On the same day the picketers were delivered to the Moskovsky district court of Minsk. Judge Dmitry Antonovich ruled three days of administrative arrest for Ilya Yadrentsev over “unsanctioned rallying”.
Today Pavel Severinets was found guilty of violating art.167/2 of the administrative code and sentenced to a fine of 1mln665thsd rubles. Sergei Matskoit was fined $181, while Elena Matskoit’s verdict is yet to be announced.