Courts excuse unlawful arrests of oppositionists
7- 13.11.2009, 14:36
Alyaksandr Mekh, the head of the BPF branch in Kobryn, got an answer from the district court over his arrest at Dazhynki harvest festival.
Alyaksandr Mekh was arrested on September 19, ahead of Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s visit to the town of Kobryn hosting Dazhynki festival. He was detained by militia when he was walking in a park with his son and guarded to a local militia department. As militiamen stated later, they an unknown man had called them and said Mekh was going to the city center carrying arms.
A detention report was drawn up against Alyaksandr Mekh. The report said the politician had been detained “on a suspicion of committing a crime”. No arms were found on the BPF activist, but he had to spend more than three hours in the militia department.
“After the unlawful detention and search in absent of witnesses, I filed a complaint to prosecutor Mikhail Zaparoshchanka. But it was redirected. I received an answer from Dashko, a chief investigator of the prosecutor’s office of the Kobryn district. He said there were no elements of an offence in actions of the militiamen, who had detained me,” Alyaksandr Mekh told in an interview to charter97.org.
The opposition activist filed a complaint to the Kobryn district court. The reply shocked him.
“The court said my complaint can’t be admitted, because ... there was no order to detain me. I was detained, a detention report was drawn up, but there was no order!”
The answer signed by chairman of the Kobryn district court Dzyahel says: “Taking into account you were released and no order to detain you was issued, there are no lawful grounds on consideration of the complaint in accordance with article 143 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Belarus.”
Alyaksandr Mekh says the reply of the court is a “travesty of the law”.
“This is not just lawlessness. This is either ignorance of the law, or a travesty,” the oppositionist says. “Chairman of the district court must be a professional, but his answer shows the opposite.”
Alyaksandr Mekh is going to file a complaint to the Brest region court.
