English

Police say that laptops seized from activist in May 2010 are used as evidence in Nyaklyayew’s trial

The Minsk city police department has informed opposition activist Yury Varonezhtsaw that two laptop computers seized from him in May last year have been used as evidence in the criminal case against former presidential candidates Uladzimir Nyaklyayew and Vital Rymashewski and four more opponents of the government.

The computers were seized from the activist’s Homyel home along with cash, mobile phones, data storage devices and leaflets during a police raid. The money and some of the equipment were returned in March this year. “However, the two most expensive laptops have not been given back to me and the people responsible for the return of the equipment have cited their physical absence,” Mr. Varonezhtsaw, an activist of the “Tell the Truth!” campaign, told BelaPAN.

After receiving his formal complaint earlier this year, the Minsk city police department told Mr. Varonezhtsaw that the computers were used as evidence in the case against Messrs. Nyaklyayew and Rymashewski and the former’s campaign aides Alyaksandr Fyaduta, Syarhey Vaznyak and Andrey Dzmitryyew, as well as Anastasiya (Nasta) Palazhanka, deputy chairperson of an opposition youth organization called Malady Front.

The six stand accused of the "organization and preparation of actions that are in gross violation of public order or active participation in them" in connection with a post-election protested staged in Minsk on December 19, 2010, seven months after the laptops were seized.

“The computers were taken away in May, the people are tried for the events that happened in December and at the same time the computers are somehow regarded as evidence, despite the fact that the computers were kept by police during December’s events,” the activist said. “I have a suspicion that they were either stolen or went missing. I wrote about my suspicion in my complaint to a prosecutor’s office.”