Activist arrested for 10 days for leaflets about strike

Human rights activists have learnt about another case of flagrant persecution of one of the public activists.

As Nasta Lojka has informed, on August 18 Raman Khalilau was detained in Minsk.

He was on his way home after work. He lives in the hostel of the Belarusian State University of Radioelectronics, as he is a 5th-year student. Policemen, who were waiting for the activist in the hostel, searched him room, found leaflets dedicated to the topic of workers’ movement, the methods of organizing strikes and others, Viasna human rights centre informs.

In addition to leaflets, his computer and mobile phones were seized, and he was taken to the police department of Savetski district of Minsk. There a standard report was drawn up on charges relating “petty hooliganism” (Article 17.1 of the Administrative Code), and on August 19 court sentenced him to 10 days of administrative arrest.

However after he served the administrative arrest, Khalilau was invited to the police department of Savetski district again, where a new report for an administrative offence under Article 17.11 was presented to him (“Manufacture and (or) keeping of extremist materials”). Though, no special expert evaluation regarding extremism had been held, the court is to decide the matter.

Policemen returned the phone to Raman, though they considered the computer was the means of manufacturing leaflets, and left it at the police department. He faces a fine or administrative arrest under this article.

It is expected that the trial over Raman Khalilau is to be held today at 3 p.m. at the court of Savetski district of Minsk.