English

Haydukow’s mother allowed to testify in his trial

 

The mother of Andrey Haydukow, a young opposition activist charged with high treason, will be questioned as a witness in his trial in the Vitsyebsk Regional Court.

“It is not known yet when she will give evidence,” human rights defender Tatsyana Sevyarynets told BelaPAN. “However, it will be at least a small opportunity for her to see her son. On Friday, the woman wrote a letter to the chairman of the court, complaining that she had not seen her son for seven months and asking to allow a meeting with him. She has not received any reply.”

It is clear from a schedule displayed in the courthouse that the trial of Mr. Haydukow will last until at least the end of this week, Ms. Sevyarynets said. According to Mr. Haydukow’s lawyer, the trial may continue into the next week if its pace does not increase, she said.

The trial began behind closed doors on June 12.

Andrey Haydukow, a fifth-year student at the chemical engineering and technology department of Polatsk State University and a fitter in charge of instrumentation at the Naftan oil refinery in Navapolatsk, was arrested in Vitsyebsk on November 8, 2012. He was taken to the KGB jail in Minsk and charged with spying.

KGB spokesman Alyaksandr Antanovich announced on November 13 that Mr. Haydukow had "gathered and passed political and economic information on the instructions of a foreign intelligence agency," and that he had been caught in the act of making a dead drop.

The 23-year old Haydukow says in a letter that he is suspected of offering to gather sensitive information about Belarus for the US Central Intelligence Agency.

According to him, the KGB claims that his activities could cause damage to the national security of Belarus and describes them as an attempt to undermine the constitutional system of Belarus and impose a policy that does not meet its national interests. The KGB accuses him of trying to destabilize the social and political situation in Belarus and seeking financial assistance from the CIA through the US embassy in Minsk. // BelaPAN