The Idiocy of Lukashists: A Resident of Dziarzhynsk Was Detained for the Flag of Japan

The citizen hung the flag of Japan in front of the window of his private house.

A resident of Dziarzhynsk, Vital Buinouski, who hung a white and red flag of Japan in front of the window of his private house, was detained and will be tried. Local militiamen drew up a protocol against Vital Buinouski under Article 23.34 for holding an unauthorized picket. The signs of the picket were the Japanese flag (a red circle on white cloth) in the window, white and red plastic ribbons and cans hanging on the balcony of the house, as well as the inscription "this is not a flag." Vital was warned that the consideration of the administrative case drawn up under this protocol would take place, possibly, on January 19, Radio Svaboda informs.

On January 18, in the first half of the day, Vital left the local temporary detention center, where he spent two days in a cell with homeless people and those who like to drink too much.

Which country symbols are prohibited?

Stone carver Vital Buinouski and his wife Katsiaryna with their children live in a private house in Dziarzhynsk. Since the summer, a white-red-white flag hung on the house, and the house was also decorated with corresponding ribbons and balloons. The owners of the house have already been fined for their devotion to the Belarusian historical symbols. Maybe now Vital will not be imprisoned, but a new fine, as he believes, cannot be avoided.

- The policemen who came to us were ours. I ask them: why did you include the flag of Japan in a prohibited symbolism? Should I complain to the Japanese Embassy, or what? They shrug their shoulders. They say that the court should decide, and their business is to take it away. If something happens, they promised to return everything along with the Japanese flag. But I guess the decision is a foregone conclusion. They said that they had an order from Minsk, that our house became known throughout Belarus, and it was ordered to sort things out, - Vital says about the conversation with the police, which took place last Saturday at the police department of the Dziarzhynski district.

According to Vital Buinouski, he refused to sign the administrative violation protocol and generally leave his explanation in it.

- What is there to explain? On what legal basis can they dictate to me what to hang in my own house? There is no such law; this is arbitrariness, - Vital Buinouski believes.

Earlier, in an interview with journalists regarding the first protocol for the white-red-white flag on the house, Vital said that "there is nowhere to retreat," and he would not refuse the national flag. Does he regret publicly voicing a position that the authorities did not like?

- I foresaw it, but I don't regret it. After all, if you just hang the flag in the closet and look at it yourself, then there is no benefit. People need to know about your position. But this is my right to express my opinion, and this is not a picket - a flag in a window, especially inside a house, moreover, a Japanese flag. Maybe tomorrow they'll identify me as a Japanese spy? This has already happened in history, and it cannot be allowed to happen again, - Vital Buinouski believes.

One cup for 6 prisoners

In a temporary detention center in Dziarzhynsk, Vital Buinouski spent almost two days - from the evening of January 16 to noon of the 18th.

- The company was partly good. If you talk to each one individually, they are normal people, with their own problems, even drama. The common thing is that they cannot find themselves since there is no work in the city; they are drawn into a vicious circle of drinking. They should be helped, but they are imprisoned, - Vital recalls former inmates.

Vital does not complain about the cold and food, but as for the observance of sanitation rules, which are very relevant during the coronavirus pandemic, he saw many problems.

- There was a problem with tea, which can definitely lead to the transmission of the disease. The fact is that only one mug was given to the entire cell. Therefore, the food dispenser first poured hot water for tea into a plastic container, and then we throw our tea bags there. And from there we drink tea, taking turns, using one cup. It is clear that if someone is sick with coronavirus, then everyone can catch it. But the administration does not care about it, - says Vital Buinouski.

Vitali believes that the second risk factor is how the dishes are washed in the isolation ward. According to Buinouski, there was no hot water in the tap, and it was also forbidden to have plastic bottles in the cell, in which prisoners usually heat water by squeezing it between the wall and the radiator. Such warm water could be used for washing bowls after meals, but there isn't, the former prisoner notes.

"So we had to wash the bowls with cold tap water. And it is unknown whether someone washed them after us. I don't think so.

Vital Buinouski also drew attention to how the rule of compulsory use of medical masks was formally observed in the IVS of the Dziarzhynski district.

- In the cell, of course, everyone is sitting without masks because, otherwise, it's very hard to breathe already in an hour. No one has disinfected for two days; we were not taken out for walks or to the shower. But when a police officer enters, he is wearing a mask and orders us to wear masks. Therefore, the impression arises that they only care about themselves, not to get the "corona," and they do not care what will happen to the prisoners, - believes Vital Buinouski.

He says the coronavirus situation in the city is tenser than it was at the end of last spring.

- Now, many acquaintances are ill or have already been ill. People talk about it so often that they are already used to it, - says Vital Buinouski. He himself has not yet experienced symptoms of the disease.

In total, the Buinouski family was fined for flags on the house for more than 2 thousand rubles.

- I don't know how we will pay. There is no work; everything costs money. We'll think, - says Vital Buinouski.