Leaders of businessmen face up to 12 years in prison

Charges have been served on the arrested leaders of entrepreneurs Mikalay Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka. The political prisoners are staying in the remand prison.

As the Charterr’97 press-centre has been informed by the human rights watchdog Aleh Vouchak, Mikalay Autukhovich has been accused under Article 218 Part 3 of the Criminal Code “Intentional destruction or damage to property of citizens, committed by an organized group, or which caused manslaughter or other grave consequences, or which caused damage on a large scale”. The businessman faces from 7 to 12 years of imprisonment.

Yury Lyavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka are accused under Article 218 Part 2 of the Criminal Code “Intentional destruction or damage to property of citizens, committed in a generally dangerous way or which caused damage on a large scale”. The businessmen face restriction of freedom for a term up to 5 years, or imprisonment from 3 to 10 years.

According to the officially announced version, Mikalay Autukhovich, Y Lyavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka are suspected of arson of the former chief of Vaukavysk district police department and a garage of a tax inspection worker which took place in 2004-2005. However, the victims of arsons do not have any claims to businessmen, as the culprits in these crimes have been punished long ago already, and they are serving the sentence.

It is impossible to find out any other details about the arrested businessmen. It is only known that on February 15 Yury Lyavonau was transferred into republican prison hospital with a diagnosis “kidney stones”.

“Lawyers say almost nothing about the investigation of the criminal case against the businessmen. We shall change the tactics. Families of the arrested will write appeals to the investigator about their intention to be advocates. Lawyers have signed a non-disclosure document, they cannot tell anything, while people are worried about the future of the new political prisoners,” Aleh Vouchak said to the Charter’97 press-centre.

On February 8 in Vaukavysk leaders of entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka were arrested. “Almaz” special police force soldiers with machine guns carried out the “operation” for Autukhovich, Lyavonau and Asipenka’s arrest.

Law-enforcers searched apartments of the arrested entrepreneurs, in the office of “Nika-Taxi 2222” firm in Vaukavysk where they worked, in the apartments of their friends and acquaintances (according to some reports, 26 searches were held on that day in Vaukavysk).

It should be noted that Mikalai Autukhovich and Yury Lyavonau are former political prisoners, sentenced to imprisonment on a far-fetched accusation for defense of the rights of entrepreneurs. In the beginning of 2008, measure of punishment was changed for them to restriction of liberty. On February 10, 2009 a hearing on early conditional release of Mikalay Autukhovich was planned in Vaukavysk.

On February 17 during a visit to Mahilyou joint stock company “Babushkina Krynka”, commenting the arrests of the entrepreneurs, Alyaksandr Lukashenka stated: “Well, they have joined the opposition already. It is a usual situation in our country: when somebody is taken by the throat justly, a typical criminal immediately turns into an oppositionist. There was something connected to arms there, as far as I remember. The law is equal for everyone. We have been fed already on July 3. Though it was a kind of a bang, people got injured; such things shouldn’t happen in the country. A private person cannot keep sub-machine guns legally, as well as grenades and explosive devices. You will be called to task most harshly. I won’t allow terror in the country”.

These changes have been retorted by a human rights watchdog Aleh Vouchak, who said to the Charter’97 press-centre:

“No ammunition or explosives have been seized in the apartments of Autukhovich, Lyavonau or Asipenka, simply because they had none of them. A usual soldering irons and tin metal were seized. They are used for solder as everybody knows. All these accusations demonstrate that the rally against leaders of entrepreneurs’ movement was premeditated,” the human rights activists said.