Former political prisoner asked political asylum in Czech Republic

Alyaksei Shydlouski said “as a result of provocation” a criminal case had been initiated against him in December 2007. The activist faces up to 10 years of imprisonment.

Alyaksei Shydlouski was among the first Belarusian political prisoners. Being a student of Journalistic Faculty of the Belarusian State University, he was arrested in his parents’ house in Staubtsy in August 1997. Three weeks before the Staubtsy District Executive Committee was drawn with graffiti, an inscription “torturer” was made on the monument to Feliks Dzerzhinsky, and a national white-red-white flag instead of a red-green one was hung out on the roof of the local administration. Alyaksei Shydlouski was sentenced to 1.5 year of imprisonment in February 1998.

In 2001 Shydlouski was sentenced to 2 years of correctional labour and expelled from the Institute of Modern Studies for his activity in “Zubr” organisation.

Besides, the activists got administrative arrests on falsified accusations several times.