English

Young opposition activist arrested in Minsk over failure to serve out jail term imposed in 2008

Young opposition activist Zmitser Kaspyarovich was arrested by police in Minsk on Tuesday on the grounds that he had served only part of a 12-day jail term imposed on him in 2008.

The chairperson of an opposition youth group called Maladaya Belarus was picked up by police officers at Minsk’s central railroad station at about 10 a.m. when he was about to leave for Vilnius. He was driven to the Savetski district police station.

“Kaspyarovich is soon expected to be taken to the detention center on Kastrychnitskaya Street,” Tsimafey Dranchuk, deputy chairperson of Maladaya Belarus, told BelaPAN. “What makes the situation worse is that Zmitser has recently suffered a serious injury, a third-degree burn to his back, and needs his bandages to be changed daily. He should be in proper conditions and not in a jail because his burn may turn into something worse. He will demand immediate hospitalization.”

Mr. Dranchuk expressed puzzlement at the authorities’ decision to arrest Mr. Kaspyarovich, considering that no street protests were expected to be staged soon. The arrest is probably meant to remind opposition activists of their status in Belarus, he said.

On March 17, 2008, Mr. Kaspyarovich was sentenced to 12 days in jail by the Savetski District Court in Minsk, found guilty of shouting profanities in the presence of the traffic police officers who had stopped him. However, he developed a hypertensive crisis on March 20 and was rushed to a hospital from the detention center on Akrestsina Steet, where he had been held since his arrest on March 15. He was allowed to go home after his discharge from the hospital. //BelaPAN