Ales Taustyka: “First fair trial in Belarus will be held over ensign Dulub”

“The first trial in the democratic Belarus will be held over ensign Dulub, who had not only abused his power by beating up Syarhei Parsyukevich and insulting other political prisoners in Akrestsin Street, but later appeared for the prosecution in the court,” said one of the leaders of the entrepreneurs’ movement of Belarus Ales Taustyka to the Charter’97 press-center, commenting on yesterday’s harsh verdict to Syarhei Parsyukevich.

“It is completely obvious that the decision had been taken in advance. In the court the accuser even couldn’t define the motive of the accusation. He floundered trying to find a legal formulation. There was an impression that a prosecutor is not a really knowledgeable person who knows laws, and right in the court he was defending his term paper or thesis work, told Taustyka about his impressions on the court. Taustyka was a defense witness. He was serving an administrative arrest for participation in the protest rally of small businessmen on January 10. He was in the same cell with Syarhei Parsyukevich in the remand prison in Akrestsin Street.

“Lawlessness has existed and still exists in our country. Policemen are giving orders to people instead of defending them from criminals. In the court Parsyukevich offered ensign Dulub to pass lie-detector test. But the judge pretended he didn’t hear the proposal. But why the so-called injured party, ensign Dulub refused to pass the test? He fears that its result would confirm he had been saying lies,” Ales Taustyka said.

As said by him, the verdict was based on testimony of a person who drinks to excess, who was imprisoned in Akrestsin Street detention center several times for anti-social behavior, but the main thing is that the “witness” had been sleeping in the cell all the time during the incident.

“It looks like he had been intimidated. Guards in Akrestsin Street treat their “regular customers” as rightless slaves. But our testimony, testimony of persons who live normal life, support their families and pay taxes, in this way providing for the judges and policemen, were found unreliable only because we have ‘wrong’ views, and that we dared to show protest against the policy of the regime. That is why this cannot be called anything but an orchestrated performance,” the leader of entrepreneurs is convinced.

Ales Taustyka has also expressed a guess that the incident in Akrestsin Street detention center was a provocation. “We have noticed on the first day that guards treat Parsyukevich in somewhat a different manner. They were doing nasty things to him, finding faults with him al the time. That is why Syarhei was very cautious. Moreover, from the first day of imprisonment he announced a hunger strike, and to say that after a week of a hunger strike a person with a chronic disease, asthma, could beat up a guard, is simply cynical,” Ales Taustyka said.

Yesterday Maskouski district court of Minsk sentenced the entrepreneurs’ leader Syarhei Parsyukevich to 2.5 years in a general regime colony. Moreover, the entrepreneur is to pay BR 1 mln 100 thousand of compensation to policeman Alyaksandr Dulub. The sentenced was passed by judge Uladzimir Audzeyenka.

Attorney Siarhey Kunash demanded 3 years of general regime colony for Syarhei Parsyukevich.

Syarhei Parsyukevich was arrested on March 4. The Vitsiebsk entrepreneur was detained for the alleged “violence against a militiaman.” Previously Syarhei Parsyukevich had been arrested for having taken part in the entrepreneurs’ protest rally held in Minsk and sentenced to 15 days of arrest which he had spent in the special distribution jail in Akrestsin Street. According to Syarhei Parsyukevich, he was beaten up violently by a militiaman Aliaksandar Dulub, an officer of the prison, on January 21. Later on this militiaman accused Syarhei Parsyukevich of having beaten him to avoid being charged himself for exceeding his commission.