On April 7, Maskouski district court of Brest completed hearing the case of local resident Andrey Levanyuk.
Some time ago, Levanyuk drew the words ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ on one of the buildings in Brest; the police considered it a picket and made a protocol on him for ‘violating rules of holding mass event’ (Article 23.34 of the old version of the Code of Administrative Offences). Later, however, a criminal case was instituted over the incident instead of administrative proceedings. As a result, the defendant appeared before court under Article 341 of the Criminal Code (‘desecration of buildings and damage to property’).
‘Deliver Us From Evil’ is part of the main Christian player Our Father which is twice mentioned in the Gospel. Mr Levanyuk, who views himself as a believer, explained what had spurred him to leave the graffiti on the wall:
“They saw some cynicism in the words of the prayer. When I was making that inscription, I wanted our people to achieve reconciliation so that there would be an end to the confrontation in our society which has been going on since August. But still, I was found guilty,” Andrey Levanyuk told Belsat.
Taking into account the prosecution’s demands, judge Vera Filonik has given him one-month term of imprisonment. It should be recalled that she sentenced nine Brest residents (including minors) to 3 – 4.5 years in jail for participating in the protest rallies that took place in the city on August, 10.
belsat.eu
