Yakavenka: Actions of militia fall under criminal article “abduction”

The Homel oppositionist filed a complaint to the Savetski district militia department over his forceful detention by militia officers.

As BelaPAN reports, at noon January 14, two men in militia uniform came up to the young man in Knizhnaya Street. They forced Yakavenka to get in a car and took me to a military enlistment office. “They explained me I allegedly evaded draft, though I didn’t receive any summons to the military office. The office staff didn’t know what to do with me. I was waiting for their chiefs, then I was told I could go,” the coordinator of the committee on creating the Belarusian Christian Democracy party.

Yakavenka went to the Savetski district militia department and filed a request asking to bring the militiamen, who had detained him, to responsibility. “Their actions fall under a criminal article “abduction”. They didn’t introduce themselves, didn’t explain anything, but threatened, forced me into a car. Can they be called law enforcement bodies?” Yakavenka said.

According to him, officers of the Savetski district militia department didn’t want to register the request. “Militiamen didn’t want to register the request, because it was written in Belarusian, the “language they didn’t understand”. Though government officials must know the two official languages. But they said they didn’t know Belarusian,” the activist commented.