Students who shaved heads in solidarity with political prisoners put on authorities’ bad books
On March 11, four students who shaved their heads to show support for political prisoners were summoned to the prosecutor’s office.
The young people were told that their act might entail the responsibility for violating the Code of Administrative Offences, TUT.by reports.
Four students of Polatsk State University took part in the solidarity flash mob #свабодустудэнцтву (#freedomforstudents), two of them – Hanna Bahdanava and Alyaksandra Buka – did not hide their names.
“The prosecutors did not drop any threats, but they warned us of the responsibility for calls to hold mass events or participation in them,” the students said.
They got information about the number of articles from the updated code which came into force on March, 1. According to the youngsters, they were inspired by Naviband musician Artsyom Lukyanenka’s deed, i.e. shaving his head in solidarity with prisoners of conscience.
As of 12 March, 279 persons have been recognised as political prisoners in Belarus. Since the summer of 2020, more than 2,400 criminal cases linked to the presidential campaign and post-election protests have been initiated.
