Alyaksandr Kazulin: Half a Year in Prison :: Charter'97 :: News

September 25, 2006 marks half a year after the arrest of the former candidate for presidency in Belarus Alyaksandr Kazulin. At present the political is serving the sentence of 5.5 years of imprisonment in the minimum security colony “Vitsba-3”.

Alyaksandr Kazulin was detained during a forcible disband of a peaceful demonstration on March 25. On that day law-enforcers used weapons and non-lethal weapons like smoke grenades, noise-making explosives, tear gas. Protesters were brutally beaten up, many of them were hospitalized. According to some reports, not confirmed by the regime, one person died.

On March 30 the leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada) was charged with violation of twp articles of the Criminal Code.

His attempt to come to the National Press-center to hold a press conference as a candidate for presidency on February 17 was viewed as hooliganism (Article 339 Part 2 of the Criminal Code). He was charged with violation of the same article for an incident on March 2, when the ex-rector of Belarusian State University broke Lukashenka’s portrait in the building of Kastrychnitski district Interior department. On that day Kazulin was brutally beaten up as he attempted to enter the so-called All-Belarusian meeting, where Lukashenka was present. SOBR commander Dzmitry Paulichenka personally took part in the battery. The world community suspects Paulichenka of abductions and assassinations of oppositionists and a journalist.

As for the events of March 25, the court found Kazulin guilty of organizing mass riot, violating article 342 Part 1 of the Criminal Code (organization of group activities violating civil order, or active participation in similar activities).

On July 13 Alyaksandr Kazulin was sentenced to 5.5 years of imprisonment in a minimum security colony.