Vorsha Resident Holds One-Person Picket, Gets Anonymously Charged With Insulting Officials

Raman Kuzmenkou has been charged over an anonymous denunciation.

The apartment of 28-year-old Raman Kuzmenkou was searched. The law-emnforcers confiscated office equipment and interrogated the activist in the investigatory committee about why he wrote appeals to the district executive committee, criticizing the local authorities.

The resident of Vorsha was summoned to the investigatory committee on the basis of an anonymous denunciation.

Raman Kuzmenkou told Radio Liberty that on the evening of May 15, two policemen took his computer, non-working printer, a flash drive and a removable disk.

"The policemen showed a warrant to inspect the apartment, which claimed the basis for the search was that I had insulted someone from the Vorsha officials. The law-enforcers introduced themselves, they called attesting witnesses - my neighbors. But they did not leave any papers confirming that they seized the office equipment. I did not even remember the names, because I was hoping to get a document in my hand, in which they would be indicated. Or a copy. But nothing was given to me. I told about this today in the Investigatory Committee, where they summoned me for a conversation," - Raman said.

According to Kuzmenkou, he was told in the investigatory committee that they are conducting a check on anonymous appeal: someone said to the police that he insulted officials. But who exactly and in what way - it is not known, Kuzmenkou emphasizes.

"I applied to the Vorsha regional executive committee through a special form on the website several times. I reported on problems at the enterprises, about shortcomings in the work of public services. I always carefully re-read what I was writing and had absolutely no intention to insult someone personally.

I saw my appeals printed out, at the investigator’s office, but they did not show them to me. Allegedly in these appeals, there are insults on my behalf, " - Raman Kuzmenkov said.

The last time he applied was that he was going to arrange a solitary picket to protest against low salaries. The picket took place on May 14. Kuzmenkou was detained and taken to court on the same day. Judge Yulia Khatkevich fined him for Bn 490 (20 base fees).

The inhabitant of Dubrouna also found his office equipment seized, as he allegedly insulted the prosecutor.

A similar story happened to Mikhail Chamuraka, a resident of Dubrouna, a district center near Vorsha. On May 4, his home was searched and the processor of the stationary computer together with the laptop belonging to his retired mother, were seized.

This laptop retained all the information necessary for entrepreneurial activities, but this has not stopped anyone, says Mikhail.

"They told me that they are checking on the statement that I insulted the district prosecutor in Odnoklassniki.ru social network. So what does the computer have to to with it, when everything is visible on the social network? They took it anyway. After me the search was conducted at my mother's house. She is a person with the 2nd degree of disability, she got agitated, her blood pressure went up, while they were looking for something in the cupboards, in the kitchen, and they were looking intently at the washing machine. As a result, they took several CDs with the family photo archive, " - the activist from Dubrouna said.

Both searches - in Vorsha and Dubrouna — have one thing in common: in violation of the law, the police did not leave documents on seized items.

Former teacher Sviatlana Chamuraka said that she wrote an application to the head of the Dubrouna police department:

"I wrote that the laptop was almost stolen - I have no proof that it was taken during a search at my son’s. They told that the laptop was sent to Vitsebsk, and now it’s destiny will be decided by the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. "

Vorsha dweller Raman Kuzmenkou also intends to demand official documents for the seized items.