Hrodna blogger Vadimati gets 25 days in jail, his sister interrogated as witness in criminal case
On August 19, Hrodna-based blogger Vadzim Yermashuk aka Vadimati was sentenced to 25 days in jail for allegedly calling for taking part in an unofficial sports event at a skate playground in the town of Shchuchyn.
Charged under Art. 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offences (violating rules of holding mass events), Yermashuk was tried in Shchuchyn district court. As a sign of protest, Vadim refused to eat behind bars, where he spent three days awaiting his trial. His relatives hope that he will not continue hungerstriking.
Today, however, Vadzim’s family has learnt that they have one more reason for concern.
According to Telegram channel They Have A Right, Natallya Rubets, the sister of detainee Vadzim Yermashuk, was taken away from the police station in Shchuchyn on Thursday morning. She came there to hand over a food parcel to her brother. Her lawyer was unaware of what was happening to her; from time to time, her social media account were online, although the woman did not answer the phone. It is not ruled out that policemen have seized by her mobile phone and checked it out.
A bit later, it became known that Natallya was interrogated in the police department of Hrodna regional executive committee, and the lawyer was not allowed to be present during the questioning. A police officer informed the lawyer at noon of Natallya’s leaving home, but it turned out that she was being taken there by the police who were going to conduct a search of her place. There was a mention of ‘organisation and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order’ (Article 342-1 of the Criminal Code) in the search warrant. In view of this, the authors of the TG channel conclude that the criminal case is unlikely to be related to Vadim Yermashuk. At the same time, Natallya has not been told as part of which case she is held as a witness.
