Human rights activist Aleh Vouchak’s passport stolen

The passport was stolen from Vouchak’s flat, while he was serving the arrest in prison in Akrestsin Street.

As Aleh Vouchak told to charter97.org website, today he filed an application on passport disappearance to the chief of the Investigation department of Belarus for Minsk, lieutenant-colonel of justice A. Volkau.

Aleh Vouchak was illegally detained on January 27 and on a false charge arrested for 4 days.

“On January 27, 2012 at about 3.30 p.m. I was walking down Kakhouskaya Street in the direction of Shauchenka Boulevard. I had a package with “Narodnaya Volya” which I planned to send by post. Walking in the direction of the post office, I turned attention to the car following me. When I came near Shaushenka Boulevard, the car stopped. Two policemen in mufti came up to me. One of them presented himself as a deputy chief of the police department of Central district of Minsk, A. Shakhlay. During the conversation I leant the name of the second policeman, A.R. Lyavoshka.

The policemen asked me to show my passport. I answered that I did not have a passport with me, and showed my ID of a war participant with a photo.

After that the deputy chief of the police department of Central district of Minsk told me that I was detained for identification, and Lyavoshka said that I was detained for commitment of a criminal act.

Before I came to their car, I offered Shakhlay to come into my flat in Haj street in Minsk, where I had my passport, which was held in a black bag. However Shakhlay refused to come to my home and said I was to go to the police department of Central district in Minsk.

In contravention of the Article 8.6 of the Code of Execution Procedure of Belarus, my personal search was held in absence of attesting witnesses.

The district policeman A. Lyavishka without attesting witnesses and inventory seized the package with newspapers, my purse with money, the key from my flat, two mobile phones.

In contravention of Article 6.9 of the Code of Execution Procedure the personal things seized from me were not stored attached to the case on administrative violation, were not sealed. After I finished serving the administrative punishment, my personal things were given to me by district policeman A. Lyavoshka.

I think that exactly as a result of the personal search held in violation of the laws in force, my passport of a citizen of Belarus disappeared from my flat during the period of my serving the administrative arrest. That is, someone used the keys from my flat illegally. On 27 January2012 I had keys with me, and policemen seized the keys during the personal search.

Me and the owner of the flat who lives abroad have access to the flat. It means that the passport could not disappear without interference of third persons.

For reasons given, I believe that my passport had been stolen. The actions of the unknown persons have elements essential to the offence under Article 378 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (theft of personal documents),” the human rights activist writes in the complaint.

Aleh Vouchak demands to open a criminal case on the fact of his passport’s theft.

We remind that it is not the first case when a passport of an oppositionist is stolen with the aim to prevent one from leaving abroad. Thus, after release from the KGB prison after the events of December 19, 2010 the authorities did not return the passport to the leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka. The passport of the editor-in-chief of charter97.org website Natallya Radzina is still kept at the KGB as well. Contrary to the law, after release from the KGB prison on recognizance, she was not given her passport for several months as well, and because of that the journalist had to flee the country without documents.