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Activist of "Tell the Truth!" campaign charged with documentary forgery

Mikhail Bashura, an activist of the "Tell the Truth!" campaign, has been charged with document forgery under Article 380 of the Criminal Code.

The 35-year-old writer has been held in custody since his arrest on August 6.

"He has been charged under two parts of the article: Part One - the forgery of documents for the purpose of their use by the executor himself - and Part Two - the same actions committed by a group of people by previous concert," Mr. Bashura's defense counsel, Tamara Sidarenka, told BelaPAN.

If convicted, the activist would face a prison sentence of up to three years.

The lawyer said that the man could be moved from a jail in Minsk to a pretrial detention center in Zhodzina, Minsk region, soon.

Ms. Sidarenka noted that she had appealed her client's detention to the Savetski District Court in Minsk. "The court will decide as to whether this measure is legal," she said.

The police in plain clothes who arrested Mr. Bashura said that he was accused of producing a false income statement a couple of years ago to obtain a bank loan.