On October 23, the Minsk City Court continued the hearing of the criminal case against Dzmitry Paliyenka, an activist of the Belarusian anarchist movement, the Human Rights Centre Viasna reports.
Dzmitry Paliyenka sprayed pepper gas in the face of a person who allegedly reprimanded him for smoking in the entrance, the Investigative Committee stated. Friends of Paliyenka say it was self-defense against a drunk attacker. On March 20, he was brutally detained by the police in his flat. A week later, it became known that he was on a hunger strike behind bars.
According to the prosecution, Paliyenka committed the act of violence against the victim ‘from hooligan motives’. It should be noted that there were no witnesses of the conflict there. However, the prosecutor asked the court to find the activist guilty and give a six-year jail sentence.
In turn, the defendent called the Belarusian juditial system ‘the repressive mechanism that works for the dictatorship’.
“Let the system make a criminal out of me, my conscience is unclouded. I am an anarchist, I do not remain silent, I am not afraid of being imprisoned. I have a truelove and friends – and these fascist policemen arw bot able take them away. I am sick and tired of being part of this circus, but I need to be heard. Long Live Belarus! Hugs to all! The truth is on our side, and this is not the last word!” Paliyenka said in his final statement.
On October 17, the trial of Dzmitry Paliyenka kicked off; it was announced to be held in camera. Five cases were brought against him:
– under Article 341 – for making a graffiti in Kurapaty, a Stalin-era mass grave site near Minsk;
– under Article 369 – for insulting former Interior Minister Ihar Shunevich;
– under Article 130 – for inciting enmity towards police officers;
– under Article 339-3 – for hooliganism;
and one more – under Art. 341 – for the graffiti ‘Cops Kill People’.
Paliyenka attempted to slash his wrists just before the trial; Minsk City Court dropped the charges under the last three criminal articles. After he was brought back to the court room, Paliyenka said: “I’ve made sure the trial is open”. The public was let into the courtroom.
In October 2016, Dzmitry Paliyenka was given a suspended sentence of 2 years for allegedly attacking a policeman during the bicycle campaign ‘Critical Mass’, which took place in Minsk. In addition, the activist was charged with committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 343 of the Criminal Code (production and distribution of pornographic materials or items of a pornographic nature).
Then Paliyenka was arrested again: on April 7, 2017, the court overturned the deferment and sent the activist to serve the remainder of his term in a prison in Babruysk. There he was regularly placed in a punishment cell, the administration also pressured the activist psychologically.
The human rights organization Amnesty International recognized Paliyenka a prisoner of conscience; he pleaded not guilty. Belarusian human rights activists demanded the release of the activist calling the sentence ‘politically motivated’.
