He staged an “unauthorized action” when he walked around Homiel in white shorts, a red shirt, and a white T-shirt with the coat of arms of his hometown.
Rechytsa entrepreneur Dzyanis Shylenka has been sentenced to 25 days in jail for “unauthorized action” under Article 24.23 of the Administrative Code, writes Rechytsa Live. The man was detained on May 27 in Homiel while walking around the city in white shorts, a white shirt with the emblem of Rechytsa, and a red shirt. According to the prisoner’s relatives, this is what attracted the attention of the police.
This is not the first case of punishment associated with the Pahonya (chase) symbol. In April, a Minsk resident with a disability was fined for an old plate with Pahonya on his house, and in May, a journalist was sentenced to 10 days in jail for a cover on his passport with the image of Pahonya.
Rechitsa received its coat of arms in the 16th century – it was the Pahonya on a red two-horned crest. The modern coat of arms of Rechitsa and Rechitsa district, officially approved in 2005, is the Pahonya on a pink banner.
The Pahonya Coat of Arms was the state coat of arms in the Belarusian People’s Republic and from 1991 to 1995 in the Republic of Belarus. It is now officially recognized as an intangible historical and cultural value of Belarus. In addition to Rechitsa, the Pahonya in different variants is on the arms of Verhnyadvinsk, Lepel, Lipnishek, and Mahiliou, Homiel and Vitsebsk regions of Belarus, as well as on the arms of cities and administrative units abroad, such as on the arms of Bialystok in Poland or Bryansk in Russia.
