Investigators attach property of Vaukavysk entrepreneurs

The political prisoners may stand trial in late October/early November.

Investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs attached property of entrepreneur Uladzimir Asipenka’s family on September 17. This formal procedure was performed by Viktar Klachko, the head of department of investigation of especially grave crimes of past years of the Main Organized Crime Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who was appointed the chief of the investigative team over the case of Mikalai Autukhovich, Uladzimir Asipenka, and Yury Lyavonau.

“They didn’t conducted searches. The returned the property seized during my father’s detention and attached it. They said the investigation would soon end and a trial may be expected in late October,” Lyudmila Asipenka, daughter of the political prisoner said.

The website www.charter97.org asked Aleh Vouchak, the authorized attorney of Mikalai Autukhovich’s family, to comment on this fact.

“This is an ordinary procedure – attaching property. By all appearances, the investigation will soon end. I think this is one of the last stages. If they were going to close the criminal case, they wouldn’t have attached the property. This is a signal (moreover, Klachko himself arrived in Vaukavysk) that the material of the case will be sent for familiarization and the case will be sent to a prosecutor and then to court.

It’s difficult to say about the process of investigation, it is kept in secrecy. It’s not allowed for lawyer to tell anything. We will be able to know everything at an open trial, but I am 99 per cent sure the trial will be held behind closed doors, as trials in the cases of Zmitser Zavadski’s kidnapping and US lawyer Emmanuel Zeltser. When the European Union again considers the issue on sanctions, the authority will say: “Are they political prisoner?” Lukashenka will shrug his shoulders and say: such a judicial system we have...” Aleh Vouchak said.

Entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau, and Uladzimir Asipenka were detained in Vaukavysk on February 8. On February 18, the entrepreneurs were charged under article 218 of the Criminal Code (intentional damage to or destruction of property of citizens). On June 23, a criminal case under article 359 of the Criminal Code (a terroristic act) in the form of preparation (article 13) was instigated against Autukhovich and “other persons”, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

Human rights activists consider the detained to be political prisoners drawing attention to the fact that Autukhovich and Lyavonau were convicted before and recognized prisoners of conscience by the international community.

Lyavonau was released from the pre-trial detention office in Minsk on his own recognition on August 8. All investigative activities against him were topped.