Political prisoner Syarhei Parsyukevich released (Photo, video)

As the Chater’97 press-centre has been informed, political prisoner Syarhei Parsyukevich has been released from Minsk colony No.1.

By all accounts, Syarhei Parsyukevich was released y Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s decree.

“Today I have been summoned to the head of the colony. He told me to be ready for release. I was given 15 minutes to pack my things, I didn’t even had enough time for that. I was told I am released by Lukashenka’s decree,” Syarhei Parsyukevich told in an interview to the Charter’97.

“I think the regime wants the EU to recognize the “parliamentary elections”, but it is not enough obviously. As far as I have understood, there have been no changes in the country,” Syarhei Parsyukevich said.

The former political prisoner has commented on the fact of bringing up a criminal case against him and his long term prison term.

“The criminal case is a frame-up undoubtedly. In the incident in the remand prison in Akrestsin Street on January 21 I believe I was the injured person. My experience of work as a policeman is enough to evaluate the situation. It was a frame-up by the investigator of the prosecutor’s office. Even a deaf could understand during the trial that I am innocent indisputably. But nevertheless I was sentenced to a prison term. I have never seen first offenders to be sentenced to imprisonment on charges relating this article (Art. 364 of the Criminal Code)”, Parsyukevich underlined.

Syarhei Parsyukevich has spent more than 5 months behind the bars. He served the term in colonies of Shklou and Minsk.

“It was a shock for me to see what is going on in the colony. The most important thing, the aim is to humiliate and crush a person there,” Parsyukevich noted.

The prisoner had serious health problems in prison. “I have asthma and gastric ulcer. And it was especially difficult in the remand prison in Valadarski Street in Minsk. It is very moist there. When the temperature is high, it’s hot to suffocation. Doctors are no good there. They can only give you pills which they have. They didn’t have pills for me. Later I was brought medicines, but their function is to cure, not to allow bringing pills,” Parsyukevich said.

Parsyukevich told about his further plans. It is unlikely that he would be allowed to continue his business activities, and he is ready to “enter the sphere of political activism”.

As we have informed, one of the leaders of the movement of businessmen, a political prisoner Syarhei Parsyukevich had been sentenced to 2.5 years of imprisonment on April 23 for participation in a protest rally of market vendors in Minsk on January 10. When he served the administrative arrest in the detention centre in Minsk, he was brutally beaten up by an officer of the prison Alyaksandr Dulub, but in order to avoid a punishment, the officer charged Parsyukevich with attacking him.