Leanid Kulakou arrested for solidarity with Rubtsou

Since July 29 Leanid Kulakou, activist of the European Belarus, has been serving the administrative arrest for solidarity with political prisoner Yury Rubtsou, as the Belarusian Documentation Center is informed.

Activists of the European Belarus Maksim Viniarski, Siarhei Matskoits and Leanid Kulakou were detained at 9 pm on June 19 at Gippo supermarket for banner "Freedom to Rubtsou" (Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience). The detainees spent the weekend in the Minsk district remand prison. On June 22 Viniarski was sentenced to 10-day arrest (Art. 23.34, para 3, Administrative Code), Matskoits - to 5 days (Art. 23.34 para 1, Administrative Code) - violation of order of holding mass events".

The trial of Kulakou was postponed until June 23 after lawyer's motion to subpoena four witnesses. Despite the fact that the witnesses-policemen acknowledged that he did not hold in hands and not hung the banner, but only made a photo of it, the reason for detention, Kulakou was found guilty of an unauthorized picket and sentenced to 10 days. While detention the police officers seized the camera with photos of the banner.

But Kulakov falsified the judgment, stated that he "considers his actions does not have signs of a picket, and does not constitute an offence entailing administrative liability under Art. 23.34, para 3 of the Administrative Code. On July 17 Aliakhnovich N.V., judge of Minsk Regional Court, considered his complaint and decided that "administrative punishment on Kulakou L.M. is imposed in view of the nature of the offence, considered to be fair." Kulakov's arguments were declared unfounded. Considering this, in June 23 the judge decided to affirm a court decision.

Maksim Viniarski said that since July 29 Kulakou had been in prison on Akrestsina.