Arrests for spreading leaflets calling to boycott “election”

Two opposition activists, spread leaflets calling to boycott the “parliamentary election”, were detained in Brest on 25 August.

As human rights activist Raman Kislyak told to BelaPAN, the incident happened in Savetskaya Street, near Belarus cinema theatre, where seven young opposition activists handed around leaflets. Some participants of the action wore T-shirts with an inscription “Boycott”.

According to the human rights activist, at about 7.30 in the evening, when the young people spread all leaflets they had and were going to go away, militia officers came up to two of them – Ivan Stasyuk and Yauhen Skrabets, and offered to go to a militia department with them.

Militiamen spent about an hour talking with the young men who refused to go to the department. Yauhen Skrabets was set free after he had showed his passport. Ivan Stasyuk has no identity documents on him and was guarded to the Leninski district militia department at 8.30 pm. The activist was reelased at 8.40 after the verification of his identity.

“Voting is not compulsory in Belarus. People may not take part in the “election” and call the others to follow them,” the human rights activist commented on the situation. “As far as I know, it was the first action of this kind in Brest.”