Minsk: Former political prisoner sentenced to 10 days in arrest


A court in Minsk sentenced Pavel Sevyarynets, a leader of the Belarusian Christian Democracy, to another short-term imprisonment.

Pavel was found guilty of participating in the rally near Kurapaty, a Stalin-era mass grave near Minsk, on March 3. He is at liberty by far.

“I was convicted for organizing and participating [in the rally], the protocol reads that I ‘shouted, expressed own opinion against the background of a white-red-white flag. Perhaps, they just want to put me in jail in order to bar me from taking part in another rally,” Sevyarynets told svaboda.org.

The activists are going to picket the KGB headquarters holding candles and portraits of prisoners.

In late February, the Belarusian activists, began a long-term action in defense of the memorial protesting against the construction of an office building started a few dozen meters from Kurapaty, a Stalin-era mass grave site near Minsk.  According to them, it is fraudulent as the building permission was granted when the area was considered a protected zone.

Why Belarusians defend Kurapaty (ENG video)

The plot on which ‘Belrekonstruktsiya’ company undertook the construction of a four-storey business center was sold by the city authorities at the auction in 2013. In 2014 the protected zone was significantly cut. According to historian Ihar Kuznyatsou, it is highly likely that remains of the victims will be found here. KGB archives which could cast light on the burial plans are classified until now. After several-day protesting in Kurapaty, the developer decided to take away its building fleet. Last Thursday, the company ordered to minimize any works and take the machines away. However, Minsk City Committee has not given up the idea to stop the construction of a business center there.

belsat.eu

belsat.eu

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