They couldn’t expel him from university, so they called him up for military service

A student-oppositionist Zmitser Zhaleznichenka who has been reinstated in the university by the court, is drafted into the army.

On January 17 the democratic activist Zmitser Zhaleznichenka was served a writ in Homel city military commissariat. He was told to arrive to the draft registration point on January 23 for army service, BelaPAN informs.

As we have informed, on January 16 the court of Tsentralny district cancelled the order of the dean of Francis Skaryna Homel State University to expel the third-year student of the faculty of mathematics, and obliged the university to reinstate Zmitser Zhaleznichenka. An opposition activist, a deputy chairman of the regional branch of the Moladz BNF (Belarusian Popular Front Youth organization) and a deputy chairman of the public organization “Talaka” was sent down on September 7 “for regular violations of internal regulations”. Zmitser Zhaleznichenka was an excellent student and was never absent from university without a due cause. He considered his expelling was politically motivated.

The decision to draft Z. Zhaleznichenka to the army was adopted on January 8, whoever he was not informed about that.

“A month ago I was called in the draft office to be boarded. But they told me then that I won’t go to he army, as they do not need oppositionists there,” Zhaleznichenka said in an interview to BelaPAN. “But today I was explained by the military commissar that he had an order to draft everybody. But I have sent two complaints to the draft commission. I ask not to be called up in conformity with the Constitution and laws in force, as I am a member of the Belarusian Popular Front party. And according to Article 36 of the Constitution, servicemen cannot be members of political parties. I have also informed the commission in a written form that in case I would be called up I ask to send me to a military unit where all orders would be done in Belarusian. I shall not carry out orders in any other language”.

The decision to reinstate Zhaleznichenka in the university is to come in force on January 26.