English

Pardoned post-election protester sentenced to three months in jail for allegedly violating police supervision rules

A district judge in Minsk on August 20 sentenced pardoned post-election protester Uladzimir Yaromenak to three months in jail, finding him guilty of failing to comply with the requirements of “preventive police supervision.”

The 22-year-old activist of an opposition youth organization called Malady Front (Young Front) was not jailed after the hearing because he had 10 days to appeal the sentence.

"If the authorities want to intimidate me by their persecution, they won`t succeed," said the 22-year-old activist of an opposition youth organization called Malady Front (Young Front). "I`m a stubborn person. If the regime has once again decided to isolate me and interfere with my activities, this probably means that I`m doing everything right."

Mr. Yaromenak described the sentence as surprisingly lenient, noting that he had expected the judge to sentence him to six months in jail, the term demanded by the public prosecutor in the case.

It is difficult to say why the judge opted for a shorter sentence, Mr. Yaromenak said, adding that his lawyer might have managed to prove procedural violations by investigators.

In May 2011, Mr. Yaromenak was sentenced to three years in prison in connection with a post-election protest staged in Minsk on December 19, 2010.

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

Since then, Mr. Yaromenak has repeatedly been arrested and sentenced to days in jail under the Civil Offenses Code.

A district judge in Minsk placed him under preventive police supervision in March 2012.

On July 16, a police officer notified Mr. Yaromenak that criminal proceedings had been instituted against him the previous month for failure to stay at home between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. //BelaPAN