Dziadok remains in colony

The tribunal of the Mahileu Regional Court did not grant the appeal of the political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok.

He ought to stay in the colony for a year in addition to the already served period (4.5 years). "Radio Svaboda" reports that the political prisoner was absent in the court. The lawyer represented his interests.

The tribunal did not satisfy the petition to bring the convict Mikalai Dziadok to the regional court.

The lawyer asked the tribunal of the regional court to annul a biased and unfair verdict.

According to the lawyer, Mikalai Dziadok's offences had a domestic character. The activist's cell had no ventilation, and he was forced to walk in a sports suit and t-shirt in summer. He did not call convicts for disobedience. According to the lawyer, the witnesses, employees of the prison, gave conflicting and inconsistent evidence.

The Prosecutor, in his turn, called the sentence fair and the arguments of the defence unfounded.

Valiantsina Dziadok, Mikalai's mother, was present in the court. Representatives from the European Commission in Belarus and Swedish Embassy in Belarus were also present. They refused to comment on it.

Valiantsin Stefanovich, a human rights activist, who also was present in the court, said it might be connected with upcoming presidential elections.

Mikalai should have been released on March 3. The activist has served 4.5 years in prison for alleged hooligan actions against official buildings. He pleaded not guilty and refused to write a petition for pardon. Half of his term Mikalai Dziadok served in "closed" prison and was treated as malicious offender.

On February 26 Leninsky District Court of Mahilou sentenced him to an additional year of imprisonment in maximum security penal colony under Article 411 of the Criminal Code for "willful disobedience to the requirements of the administration." Belarusian human rights activists are seeking to repeal the article, which has no analogues in other post-Soviet countries.