Chairman of the Vitebsk branch of the Union of Poles in Belarus, Vladyslav Tokariev escaped Belarus, after being wrongfully charged with financial fraud.
As Radio Svaboda reported, Tokariev has been staying in Poland for last few days. He left Belarus after a search had been conducted in his apartment last Saturday, and he had been stopped in a street and interrogated.
During the interrogation, police requested that he signed a document with confession to taking money for helping obtain visas. According to the police, one of his clients was cheated – Tokariev allegedly lost his passport and kept the money. Officers first promised cross-examination of the allegedly cheated man, but that never happened.
Police also confiscated six passports, which Tokariev brought from Minsk for his friends. They refused to give a receipt and informed he will return passports to their owners.
At the same time, Tokariev’s apartment was searched. The police told dissident’s wife that he was organizing seminars for youth, teaching them how to overthrow the system in Belarus. Police confiscated two laptops and a computer.
Tokariev is now worried that his wife, who is a doctor, might lose her job. In his opinion, the accusations against him were made up because of his political activism with the UPB, such as organizing demonstrations in defense of political prisoners.
Tokariev has not applied yet for a refugee status, he is still waiting to see how does the investigation against him develops. He rejected all charges of financial frauds.
Belsat
