14 people have demanded amendmends be made to Article 328 of the Belarusian Criminal Code. The picket which took place in Independence Square in Minsk lasted for about one minute.
“We are going to the Government House, where MPs who consider bills gather. We need to make them aware of our position. In Belarus, there are people who are serving eight-year terms in prison, their lives are broken,” Pyotr Markelau, one of the organisers of the rally, said.
According to the article, one can be sentenced to up to eight years in jail for purchasing even soft drugs.
Young activists were carrying posters with big letters which formed the word Decriminalisation. A minute later, when the police appeared in the square, the activists decided to stop picketing and dispersed.
Representatives of the movement “Mothers-328″, which brings together relatives of those who were put behind bars under Art. 328, also urge the authorities to relax the law. In April, the women might start a continuing hunger strike in protest.
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