Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Priest Seeking Compensation For Night In Detention

Father Vikentsiy considers his detention illegal.

The Maskouski district court of Minsk denied compensation for non-pecuniary damage for the night spent in the detention center to Viktar Kavalkou (Father Vikentsiy), reports the human rights center “Viasna”.

On November 28 last year, priest of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Father Vikentsiy (Viktar Kavalkoa) was detained by officers of the Pershamaiski District Department of Internal Affairs of Minsk for asking for alms from residents of a town house. They made the protocol according to Article 17.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (hooliganism) and placed Kavalkou in a detention facility for the night, although he showed the policemen the certificate of the second degree disability.

The next day he was released, and a few days later his administrative case was discontinued, because they did not find an offense in his actions. Although it is known that a petition was sent to the court from the Pershamaiski district police department with a request to bring Kavalkou to administrative responsibility in the form of arrest.

Viktar Kavalkou considers his detention unlawful and therefore decided to demand from the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs of the Minsk City Executive Committee and the Ministry of Finance moral compensation for the suffering. At the trial on April 16, the defendants did not recognize the lawsuit, and judge of the Maskouski district court Alena Charniak took their side, having rejected Kavalkou’s lawsuit.

Lawyer Aliaksei Loika, who helped Kavalkou to appeal against the unlawful detention, admits that the decision was not a surprise to him.

“The court, in order to decide on the case, held four sessions. On the one hand, it may seem that the court considered this case very carefully, delving into all the circumstances. On the other hand, the decision was not a surprise for me. The unanimous cynicism of the state bodies - the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk City Executive Committee, the Pershamaiski District Department of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance all repeated word by word that they did not recognize the lawsuit, as the Civil Code does not provide for prerequisites for the moral damage compensation in case of illegal detention.

And all this happens after state representatives from the high tribunes of the UN Human Rights Committee declare progress in the field of human rights, exposing to the international community the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as an indicator of progress in our country. ”

Aliaksei Loika believes that it’s too early to put an end in the case of Father Vikentsiy. He will continue appealing against the decision, relevant international structures will be informed about the situation. Also, the lawyer does not exclude the possibility that in the future there will be an appeal to the representatives of the legislative power in order to exclude any possibility of administrative detention of people with disabilities for more than three hours.