Police Colonel: Belsat TV identifies man in charge of abducting protesters in Mahiliou
Police Colonel Syarhei Volkau
A video of brutally detaining a protester in Mahiliou has caused outrage among Belarusian Internet users. Several people were ruthlessly detained by plainclothes policemen in Belarus’s Mahiliou and thrown into an unmarked car.
Although on March 15 Belarus celebrated its Constitution Day, marches of non-parasites were held in Minsk, Mahiliou and Hrodna. According to people who protesting the so-called ‘parasite’ law, Lukashenka’s Decree Nr 3 is unconstitutional.
Belsat.eu identified the policeman who gave orders during the arrest which bore a strong resemblance to kidnapping. The man seen at 01:32 in the video is Deputy Chief of Mahiliou public security police, Colonel Syarhei S. Volkau.
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A Belsat TV journalist repeatedly asked the policemen in civvies to show their IDs and introduce themselves, but Colonel Volkau kept answering: “Keep out of the way! Do not violate the rules!”
Syarhei Volkau (R)
Trials of participants in Wednesday’s peaceful protests are in progress. Hearings are being held in Minsk, Mahiliou and Hrodna.
According to human rights activists, more than 50 people who took part in the rallies against the so-called ‘parasite’ laws were detained in Belarus yesterday. Some were released after spending a few hours in a police station, but protocols were drawn upon the best part of the detainees. Arresting protesters, plainclothes policemen refused to show their IDs, used violence and even fired tear gas.
