Minsk IT student leaves Belarus straight after release. He was expected to serve over 100 days
21-year-old Minsker Yan Salanovich, who spent nearly three months in the detention centre on Akrestsin Street, has left Belarus immediately after going out of jail.
“Yes, I am abroad now. I departed from Belarus within 12 hours after the release,” he said when reached by Nasha Niva.
Yan Salanovich, the then student of the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (BSUIR), was detained during the march to Stalin-era mass grave site Kurapaty on November, 1. Yan was just walking along Independence Avenue, he did not have any flags or posters, his mother Volha told journalists.
At first, he got a 12-day prison term, but even after serving it, Yan was not freed. As his defence lawyer found out, during the first trial the IT student said that he had taken part in protests since the very beginning and listed 15 episodes of his involvement. Later, it appeared that he was tried for each. In total, Yan was sentenced to 115 days of arrest. Belarusian human rights watchdogs recognised the detainee a political prisoner.
The young man was to have gone at liberty in late February, but he was unexpectedly released on January, 25. Earlier, his family received a letter from the BSUIR. According to it, as Yan Salanovich failed to pass end-of-semester exams, the university authorities decided to take his name off the books.
