Since August 4th, Maksim Znak and Maryia Kalesnikava have been tried behind closed doors. The relatives and associates of the accused can’t get to the hearings, and the lawyers can’t speak about the circumstances of the case, as they have signed the non-disclosure paper. Nevertheless, Maksim Znak’s lawyer reports about the reaction of the defendant and some of the moments of Maksim’s speech writes Telegram-channel of Viktar Babaryka.
On August 23, the closed trial in the case of Maryia Kalesnikava and Maxim Znak continued. Relatives and friends of the defendants will be able to get to the session only during the sentencing. In general, the public does not know what the charges are based on. We only know that Maksim and Maryia could face up to 12 years in prison.
“Maksim, as he planned before the trial, is actively participating in the hearing. He gave detailed testimony refuting all the acts charged against him, and is now commenting in detail on the case materials under investigation, in which, as the defense indicated earlier, there is no evidence of his guilt. Maryia takes the same active position at the hearing. At this point, many of the case materials have already been examined, but we are not yet at the final stage. Nevertheless, if the trial hadn’t been closed, the public would have been already convinced that the charges were not based on reality,” says Maksim Znak’s lawyer Yauhen Pylchanka.
The trial against Maryia Kalesnikava and Maksim Znak started behind closed doors on August 4. The political prisoners are tried at Minsk District Court, 119A, Mayakouskaha Street, Minsk. The judge is Syarhei Yepikhau.
According to the prosecution, Znak and Kalesnikava, “together with other persons no later than July 16, 2020, entered into a secret conspiracy to seize state power unconstitutionally.”
They face up to 12 years in prison.
