English

Pavel Sevyarynets denied release on parole

A parole board of the Navapolatsk correctional institution on February 20 denied a release on parole to Pavel Sevyarynets, who is serving a two-year "restricted freedom" sentence in a village near the Latvian border.

As the opposition activist's father, Kanstantsin Sevyarynets, told BelaPAN, the board suggested that Pavel should write a statement in which he would repent of the offense he was convicted of and promise not to commit such offenses in the future. "Pavel refused to admit any guilt and write such a statement, that is why the board concluded that he "has not chosen the path of reform" and refused to release him on parole, the father said.

"Of course, I would like very much if Pavel was freed," he noted. "But on the other hand, I feel pity for the residents of the village of Malaye Sitna, who will lose such a nice guy with his departure. In some sense, I'm grateful to the Belarusian authorities that by sending my son there, they spread the national revival idea to this remotest place of our country."

Pavel Sevyarynets and another opposition politician, Mikalay Statkevich, were sentenced to a three-year "restricted freedom" term in May 2005 for staging a series of unauthorized demonstrations in central Minsk in the fall of 2004 against the official results of the 2004 parliamentary elections and national referendum, which are widely believed to have been rigged.

The sentences were reduced by one year under an amnesty law.

Mr. Sevyarynets has been serving his term since August 2005. He is employed by a local timber company. On December 30, 2006, he turned 30.