BSU students threatened with expulsion for solidarity with Tatsyana Shaputska

The administration of the Law Faculty of Belarusian State University, where “Young Front” press secretary studied, calls students for “preventive conversations”.

The university administration threatens to expel the students collecting signatures for restoring Tatsyana Shaputska in university. The “Young Front” press secretary hasn’t gone to court yet and waits for political decision, Radio Racyja reports.

The administration of the BSU Law Faculty, where Tatsyana Shaputska studied, and administration of university hostels continue to press on the students who gave their signatures to support restoring of the “Young Front” press secretary in university. According to the activist, at the beginning of the campaign, subdean of the law department Andrei Shydlouski began to call students to his office for “preventive conversations”. Students left his office in tears.

“The subdean called students and threatened they would be expelled and their parents would lose business. These were directs threats. Many students got threats, my group mates and those who gathered signatures” Tatsyana Shaputska said.

We remind that Tatsyana Shaputska was expelled from the law department of Belarusian State University after she had taken part in the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in Brussels. This is flagrant even against the background of usual practice of expulsion of politically active students from Belarusian universities. The Eastern Partners is an initiative of the European Union, officially supported by the Belarusian leadership. Civil society, as well as governmental bodies, can participate in the project.

Tatsyana Shaputska represented the Belarusian civil society at the Eastern Partnership Forum in Brussels. She met with the leadership of European countries and the EU, including Carl Bildt, the Foreign Minister of Sweden, holding EU presidency, and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy. During the forum, when reports about the threat of the activist’s expulsion appeared, Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Carl Bildt, as well as other high-ranking participants of the Forum assured participants of the event that they would follow the developments concerning Tatsyana Shaputska.