On 19 May Robert Hårdh, Executive Director of Sweden’s Civil Rights Defenders human rights group, arrived in Minsk to meet with the head of the Swedish Hockey Federation Christer Englund at Čyžouka Arena, where Sweden played Italy as part of the World Championship.

Robert Hårdh has brought a symbolic hockey jersey containing the text “Bialiatski 33” written on the back of it. The jersey symbolizes the 33 months of imprisonment of the leader of Belarusian human rights Centre “Viasna”, who was imprisoned on political grounds. Ahead of the trip to Minsk, Mr. Hårdh wrote on Facebook that he intended to present the jersey to Mr. Englund, telling him about the background to the World Championship.

Apparently, it was this “souvenir” with the name of the political prisoner that was targeted by the security guards who detained Robert Hårdh as he was entering Čyžouka Arena at 8 p.m. The Arena security brought the human rights defender to a special room for a search.

The guards would not let Hårdh until Christer Englund appeared. After a 10 minute talk, the human rights activist was released, taking the hockey jersey with him. However, he was once again detained when passing the control zone inside the Arena. Robert Hårdh was subjected to another examination of his things, which was carried out in the presence of Englund. This time, no “forbidden” items were found by the security guards.

As a result, the Civil Rights Defenders leader met with the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation President. After that, Robert Hårdh went to watch the hockey game accompanied by both Swedish and Belarusian human rights defenders.

“World Championship on Number of Political Prisoners” – billboards on the border

Foreign guests, who are coming for the World Hockey Championship, are met by the billboards reminding of Belarusian political prisoners.

Billboards are installed in Poland near the border crossings Brest – Terespol and Bruzgi – Kuznica.

One can see the pictures, which have become popular on social networks, on these billboards: a hockey helmet entangled in barbed wire, and the text in English: “World Championship on Number of Political Prisoners. Belarus – 2014.” Below there is the slogan “Do not play with the dictator” and the link to the site statkevich.org .

Maryna Adamovich, a wife of Mikola Statkevich, the candidate in the last presidential election, a political prisoner, who has already spent three and a half years behind bars, says that this is the way how the members of the initiative wanted to remind hockey fans and Belarusian citizens who go abroad on human rights violations in our country.

“It is no secret that the campaign demanding to move the Championship to another country, if the Belarusian human rights violations continue, and the political prisoners remain imprisoned, has lasted for almost three years.  It did not happen. On the contrary, the situation became even worse. The declarations that the sport is out of politics look particularly cynical now, when right after the Sochi Olympics, which were held contrary to the demands to move it to another country, Russia carried out aggression in Ukraine, when tens of democratic activists have been predictably imprisoned on cynical charges and for unprecedented terms. This holiday is not for everyone. We would like people to remember about it.”

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