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Pardoned post-election protester Parfyankow formally charged with violating police supervision rules

Pardoned post-election protester Vasil Parfyankow has been formally charged with failing to comply with the requirements of "preventive police supervision” for being once caught coming home too late and for going out to a food store in another instance.

The 29-year-old Parfyankow was notified of the charge on July 12 by an investigator at the Pershamayski district police station in Minsk.

If found guilty as charged, the opposition activist may be sentenced to up to one year in prison.

“Since I have not admitted any guilt or wrongdoing, I guess the sentence will be harsh,” Mr. Parfyankow told BelaPAN. “But this does not frighten me. I am ready to having go to prison again.”

According to Mr. Parfyankow, he has to visit the Pershamyaski district station on July 15 to study his case, which is expected go to trial in a month.

Mr. Parfyankow served a six-month jail term between August 2012 and February 2013 after being found guilty of failure to comply with the restrictions imposed on him after his early release.

Vasil Parfyankow was one of the 28 people who were sentenced to prison terms in connection with their participation in a post-election protest staged in Minsk on the night of December 19, 2010. He was the first of them to stand trial. In February 2011, he was sentenced to a four-year prison term.

He was granted a presidential pardon on August 11, 2011 and released three days later.

After his release, Mr. Parfyankow was repeatedly arrested and punished under the Civil Offenses Code for participating in unsanctioned demonstrations.

In January 2012, a district judge in Minsk placed the young man under preventive police supervision after the police claimed that he "has not stepped on the path of reformation" and "has repeatedly disturbed the public peace."

Mr. Parfyankow was ordered to report to a probation officer once a week and stay at home between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless he was required to be at his workplace, and prohibited from leaving Minsk on personal business without police permission.

He received his six-month sentence in late May 2012 for being absent from home without a good excuse and for being found guilty of a civil offense twice within a year.

After being released in February 2013, Mr. Parfyankow said that he was not going to give up political activity. “I remain what I’ve always been,” he told BelaPAN.

“I’m prepared for various kinds of trouble that may be created by authorities,” he said. “I’m not afraid to be jailed again because I do nothing criminal. I express my opinion, which is guaranteed by the constitution. I have the right to do so and I’ll exercise this right.”