Piotr Kuzniatsou, Uladzimir Katsora, Yuras Zakharanka, Anatol Paplauny, and Vasil Paliakou did not attend the court hearing protesting the fact that their appeals were not duly processed at the time they held their hunger strike. The court therefore decided on the appeals without the activists’ presence. Katsora, a Movement for Freedom regional leader, explained the absence:
“It was very clear what the court would decide. It made no sense to attend the so-called hearing.”
Katsora was sentenced to 3 days’ imprisonment for commemorating the opposition general. The other four were fined.
However, several years ago the Supreme Court of Belarus issued an explanation in a similar case. It establsishes that memorial actions on the streets in which people hold portraits of disappeared politicians do not qualify as mass demonstrations, for which organisers have to get a permit. Commenting on his circumstances, Kuzniatsou, one of the prosecuted activists and a Homiel Democratic Forum coordinator, said:
“The authorities on our case has ‘corrected the mistake’ made by the Supreme Court. In a current situation this ‘mistake’ does not fully allow the authorities to suppress protest actions. This recent verdict creates new mechanisms, which would enable them to prosecute civic activists. And this is precisely the matter in our case.”
The Homiel activists now intend to appeal their sentences to the Supreme Court. If the latter also declines, the activists will address the UN Committee on human rights, said Paliakou, a third of the five activists and a United Civic Party regional office head.
