Brest: Politician, bloggers detained over protest against hazardous plant


Former political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich, bloggers Syarhei Pyatrukhin, Alyaksandr Kabanau and several protesters were detained after Sunday’s protests against constructing iPower battery factory in Brest.

Before the event, Pyatrukhin and Kabanau called on Brest residents to join the peaceful rally.

On October 14, about one hundred persons came to the main square of Brest. Kabanau and Pyatrukhin were holding a banner ‘No To Battery Factory!’ An hour later, the police grabbed the two bloggers and Mikalai Statkevich and took them to Leninski district police department of Brest. During his detention, the people were chanting ‘Shame!’ They are highly likely to be tried for organizing or taking part in an unauthorised mass event.

Policemen also detained activists Dzmitry Bekalyuk, Vital Kazak, Uladzimir Maroz, Ryhor Pahartsau and two other protesters whose names are not yet known. Some participants have been summoned to the police.

The Chinese company is building the battery plant which will produce lead-acid batteries at a rapid pace. Its work may cause severe damage to human health due to lead emissions within a radius of 30 kilometers. Lead dust from production may provoke many serious diseases, including cancer.

СА, belsat.eu

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