KGB To Patriot: We'll Accuse You Of Terrorism, And You'll Get Ten Years

Patriot Artsiom Leuchanka has told about the pressure at the KGB jail.

Young Front activist Artsiom Leuchanka, who was kept at the pre-trial detention center No. 1 on suspicion of "preparing for mass riots" from March 22 to April 1, appealed to the State Security Committee, demanding compensation for his detention, Viasna writes.

On March 22, Artsiom Leuchanka was detained together with Zmitser Dashkevich in writer Uladzimir Arlou’s apartment, while they were redecorating the kitchen there. According to Leuchanka, they had ordered food, but instead of the delivery service, people in civilian clothes burst into the apartment, and the brutal detention started:

"When I opened the door, they immediately shut my mouth, ordered to be silent and put me on the steps. Then they brought me to my knees, twisted my hands behind the back, put handcuffs on them, and threw on a black bag over my head. We were standing in the entrance like that for about half an hour. As I understand, we were waiting for other policemen to detain Palcheuski. Then we were all put into the same bus, but after 2-3 minutes I was transferred to the trunk of another bus. Soon they put me in a third car, where they finally took the bag off my head, and a KGB officer informed me that I had been detained," – Artsiom Leuchanka says.

He was told that he was in the status of a suspect under Art. 293 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus only two hours after his arrest, during the search in his apartment. By the way, witnesses, who were present at the search, were familiar with those who conducted it.

The KGB officers, who were taking the activist to the search, were constantly trying to intimidate him.

"I was told: "That’s it, we will accuse you of terrorism, and you will get ten years.You will be a terrorist, Artsiom." They saw that I’m young, and therefore thought that it would somehow affect me," – Leuchanka says.

Threats and psychological pressure did not come to the end at the KGB building, where Leuchanka was brought after the search, with a bag on his head again.

"When we were sitting with the captain of the KGB face to face, he said to me:" You moron, why do you need this? You're ruining your own life! And nobody cares for your Belarusian language, so speak normally!" Then he called my mother and lied to her, saying that I had already been taken to the remand prison No.1. At the same time he warned me that "if I dare to squeak, I’m in trouble."

According to Artsiom, during the first night he was able to sleep less than two hours. Only at one in the morning he was given to sign a protocol of procedural actions, where the incorrect time of signing it had been already written – 21.00. After all the procedures, Leuchanka got to a cell at the pre-trial detention center in Valadarski street at about four in the morning. But after two hours, at six in the morning, there was a wake-up signal, and I was forbidden to go to bed.

The activist was allowed to meet with his lawyer only a few days after his arrest. Letters from relatives and friends did not reach him, he did not get books or newspapers during the first days. At first, Leuchanka tried to write complaints about the poor conditions in the cell, as well as about the brutal behavior of the remand prison staff, who often swore. But he did not get any answers. Only a few days later he was transferred to another cell, which was not different from the previous one except for having a toilet seat instead of a hole in the floor.

For 10 days in jail, KGB officers came to talk to Leuchanka without protocols three times. Several times in the period from 7 to 11 o'clock in the evening, he was taken with a bag on his head to the KGB building for interrogations and procedural actions. The KGB officers themselves wrote up the activist's testimony and only allowed him to correct it, arguing that such a procedure saved time. According to Artsiom Leuchanka, in the course of the interrogations, an Alfa group employee was standing behind, exerting psychological pressure on the activist.

On April 1, Artsiom Leuchanka was released in the status of the accused of the "preparation of mass riots." In early June, the KGB stopped the criminal prosecution against him under Art. 293 Part.3. of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus for lack of evidence.

The Young Front activist believes that his ten-day detention was illegal, and the MIA and State Security Committee personnel’s actions humiliated his human dignity. Therefore, after receiving a special KGB resolution, he plans to apply to the court with a claim for compensation against the Ministry of Finance, the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.