More Than 1,000 Witnesses Ready to Defend Dashkevich :: Charter'97 :: News

Activists of the Young Front have collected 1,273 signatures of people who are ready to testify upon a trial in defence of the leader of the organization, Zmitser Dashkevich, Radio Svaboda informs. Many of them are going to come to the court of Kastrychnitski district of Minsk on October 30, when the trial over the activist starts. Zmitser Dashkevich is to stand trial for violation of the Article 193 Part 1 of the Criminal Code (creation or participation in an unregistered organization).

Within the last month friends and colleagues of Zmitser have turned to Embassies of the EU countries in Minsk, to the European Commission and the OSCE for help. They staged street protests.

In the list of persons who had voiced a support to Dashkevich are the leader of the democratic forces Alyaksandr Milinkevich, the head of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka, a writer Uladzimir Arlou and others. A few hundreds of the Young Front members, their parents and acquaintances have been summoned to the court for October 31. They are going to testify that they are members of the Young Front organization and would demand to try them under the same article as Zmitser Dashkevich.

Young Front members are going to come to the building of the court with candles and portraits of Zmitser Dashkevich. On October 29 they are going to hold a protest in defence of Zmitser within the framework of Dzyady demonstration. On October 30 actions of solidarity with Dashkevich are planned in Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine.