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Dzmitry Paliyenka Slashes Wrists In Court

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Dzmitry Paliyenka Slashes Wrists In Court
DZMITRY PALIYENKA IS SLASHING WRISTS IN COURT.
PHOTO: HRC VIASNA

(updated) The trial of the political prisoner has been stopped.

On October 17, the Minsk City Court has started considering the case against Dzmitry Paliyenka, the website of the Human Rights Center Viasna reports.

Dzmitry Paliyenka is charged under four articles (five episodes) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus:

part 3, Article 339 - Spraying pepper gas in the face of a man on a staircase;

Art. 341 - Making graffiti in Kurapaty and on the building in Akhotskaya Street;

part 1, Art. 130 - Inciting hatred towards police officers in a video on youtube;

Art. 369 - insult of (former) Interior Minister Ihar Shunevich in a video.

Judge Piotr Arlou is considering the case. The court hearings are closed to the public.

Journalists, human rights activists and all those willing to attend the trial were allowed into the courtroom. However, just before the trial started, Paliyenka cut his veins. The trial was stopped. Paliyenka was searched and taken out of the courtroom cage under police escort.

"Dzima has been escorted out. Policemen are taking pictures of the place of the incident in the cage. Nobody leaves the courtroom. Half of those present have been let in, the police have made a list of the press. They have questioned and called an ambulance," - those present say.

Activists of the European Belarus civil campaign have come to the court to support Dzmitry Paliyenka. They are wearing T-shirts with the portrait of the political prisoner.

“There are about 30 people at the doors of the judge’s office. Only several managed to get in. Others are kept outside,” the press-center of the European Belarus reports on the situation in court after Dzmitry Paliyenka has cut his wrists.

Volha Nikalaichyk is telling the Charter97.org news website that about thirty activists have come to the court to support Dzmitry Paliyenka. When the political prisoner cut his wrists, the activists tried to get into the courtroom.

The light has been turned off in the corridor, where the activists are waiting, a jostle has started, the police are preventing the journalists from doing their job.

Radio Svaboda reports that Dzmitry Paliyenka managed to shout out “That’s disgrace of a court!” immediately after cutting his wrists.

The court visitors have been told that the hearing is transferred to another courtroom, but they don’t let people there. Plainclothed policemen are using violence against those who have come to support Paliyenka. Among the victims there are Nina Bahinskaya, Siarhei Sparysh, Maksim Viniarski, and the activists of the anarchist movement. The people are trying to shout out loudly so that Dzmitry would hear them from behind closed doors: “Dzmitry, we are with you!”. They are chanting “Freedom to Paliyenka!” The lights in the court corridor have been turned off, Radio Svaboda reports.

Activist of the anarchist movement Viachaslau Kasinerau has told the following when livestreaming from the court building:

“Some blokes forced us out of the corridor, maybe those were policemen - they didn’t introduce themselves. They tried to break people’s fingers, tore several jackets and backpacks.

The authorities’ plans failed: maybe not many people gathered here, but all of them are brave and united. So those who have conscience could come here, to the court building, and help to get rid of this fascism and these “bulls”.

Because they are weak and coward. They are afraid, they turn off the lights - this is a pitiful sight, I can tell you.”

Civil activist Volha Nikalaichyk, who has come to the court building to support political prisoner Dzmitry Paliyenka, has told Charter97.org that the police forced the activists out of the corridor. Nina Bahinskaya has suffered.

- What can be in the trials of political prisoners and activists fighting for independence and freedom of Belarus? What else can happen when there's a trial of an innocent man? He took such a step because of despair and hopelessness. We see a situation identical to the Soviet times, when the fighters for Belarus and our dissidents were tried. This is just another NKVD. Yes, today we are killed not in Kurapaty, but in other ways. But we came to court today to support Dzmitry, we were shouting “Shame!” to these judges and servants of the regime. This is our position.

The lawyer and the state prosecutors have been called to another courtroom. The people want to get in there. The lights in the corridor have been turned off. No one is leaving. Plainclothed policemen are trying to detain the people, in particular, Viachaslau Kasinerau. He grabbed onto the railings, and the police could not tear him off, the website of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” reports.

“A bit later, they informed the trial will be held in another room. The people went there. Several bandits in civil clothes blocked the entrance. There was a clash for about 20-25 minutes,” the Narodnaya Hramada party’s press-center reports.

PHOTO: HRC VIASNA
PHOTO: HRC VIASNA
PHOTO: RADIO SVABODA
PHOTO: RADIO SVABODA
PHOTO: RADIO SVABODA
PHOTO: RADIO SVABODA
PHOTO: RADIO SVABODA
PHOTO: RADIO SVABODA

At about 11 a.m., they started to let all the present in through the metal-detecting frame, the website of the HRC “Viasna” reports. Activist of the European Belarus Leanid Kulakou has been forbidden to enter the courtroom with a white-red-white flag.

LEANID KULAKOU
PHOTO: ALES BIALIATSKI

The trial has been announced open.

“This is victory! They are letting people into the courtroom!” the press-center of the European Belarus reports.

“The people have been let into the courtroom. As always, bravery and dignity is the only way to protect own interests. They have made the trial open,” the press-center of the Narodnaya Hramada party reports.

PHOTO: HRC VIASNA
PHOTO: HRC VIASNA

“So we are back to the courtroom. This was mostly done by several brave guys and women. And if several hundred people came, maybe they would release Dzmitry. As literally several people managed to make the trial open,” Viachaslau Kasinerau says.

After the trial against Dzmitry Paliyenka was made public in the Minsk city court, the activist was greeted with applause.

The video was published on Facebook by Viachaslau Kasinerau, an associate of the political prisoner.

The video shows that those gathered in the room meet Dzmitry Paliyenka as a hero. People chant: “Freedom to Paliyenka!”, “Long Live Belarus!”, “Zmitser, Zmitser, Zmitser!”

“Dzmitry has achieved his goal: the trial is now open. But he was brought in handcuffs, we heard the barking of dogs - that is, he was searched with dogs, the Nazi authorities showed their scowl again. But Dzmitry is alive, and he has achieved his goal. Nicely done!” Viachaslau Kasinerau commented on the situation.

PHOTO: RADIO SVABODA

Viachaslau Kasinerau has reported that they can drop all charges against Dzmitry Paliyenka, except for Article 339, Part 3 ( “Hooliganism”).

“And now the interesting information: it is likely that they will drop all charges against Dzmitry Paliyenka, except for Part 3 of Article 339. Thus, the power, first of all, got scared of Dzmitry’s principled stance, and the attention from the society, and the support of his comrades.

It is also a move to ensure that the trial of Paliyenka is deprived of political component.

Once again: one gesture (cut of the wrists) of a political prisoner, and the efforts of approximately 8 people made the trial open, and disrupted four criminal charges.

Let’s imagine what hundreds of people, supporting political prisoners, can do,” Kasinerau wrote on Facebook.

PHOTO: HRC VIASNA

At trial, Dzmitry Paliyenka plead innocent with regard to the first episode - spraying pepper gas in the face of the man on the staircase (Part 3 of Article 339 of the Criminal Code). “Victim” Aliaksei Yuryn was in the courtroom. Paliyenka said that Yuryn had a reason to slander him, saying that, in his presence, the “victim” was offered “good compensation” for this in the 3rd department of the State Administration of Countering Organized Crime.

The “victims” testimony at the trial diverged significantly from that he gave during the “investigation”. “Do you have a conscience?” Dzmitry Paliyenka asked the “victim”.

PHOTO: RAMAN PRATASEVICH / EURORADIO
PHOTO: HRC VIASNA
PHOTO: HRC VIASNA
PHOTO: HRC VIASNA
PHOTO: HRC VIASNA
PHOTO: T.ME/NARODNAYA_HRAMADA
PHOTO: T.ME/NARODNAYA_HRAMADA
PHOTO: T.ME/NARODNAYA_HRAMADA
PHOTO: T.ME/NARODNAYA_HRAMADA

“To the applause of his comrades-in-arms, Dzmitry Paliyenka has proposed to Nastassia Huseva. She said yes,” Viachaslau Kasinerau, an activist of the anarchist movement, wrote on Facebook.

Almost all charges against Dzmitry Paliyenka dropped

It has been reported that the court in the Dzmitry Paliyenka case will consider only the episode of “spraying pepper gas in the man’s face” (Article 339 “Extremely malicious hooliganism”), the charges under Article 341 of the Criminal Code (the graffiti in Kurapaty and on the building in Akhotskaya Street), Part 1 of Article 130 (incitement of hatred towards police officers in a video published on Youtube), Article 369 (insulting the Minister (former) of Internal Affairs Ihar Shunevich in the video) have been dropped. The prosecutor's office has withdrawn them, the website of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” reports.

The lawyer of the political prisoner has confirmed this information to Radio Svaboda (https://www.svaboda.org/a/30221069.html). According to Paliyenka’s lawyer Tatsiana Lishankova, the prosecutor has dropped all charges, except for extremely malicious hooliganism. Dzmitry Paliyenka plead fully innocent.

The coordinator of the European Belarus civil campaign commented on the trial of Dzmitry Paliyenka, for the Charter97.org news website:

- From the experience of dealing with people who have been imprisoned for long terms, I know that people dare to take such steps in extreme situations. We do not know all the information for sure, so we do not know what's going on with Dzmitry behind bars, which measures are applied against him, but if a person cuts his wrists open - this is an extreme measure.

On the other hand, we see that these actions of Dzmitry, as well as the fact that a lot of people, who actively supported the man, came to the court, made it possible to achieve an open trial. This is a victory of Dzmitry Paliyenka, and the people who came to show solidarity with him.

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