Праваабарончы цэнтр «Вясна»беларускі хельсінкскі камітэт

Barysau: police disrupt canvassing picket of a democratic candidate

At about 11.50 a.m. the police detained the deputy head of the United Civil Party Leu Marholin and a member of his electoral team, Mikhail Vasiliieu near the large Barysau supermarket “Vesta”, where they were collecting signatures in support of Marholin's candidacy.

The detainees were guarded to the Barysau District Police Department. It's worth mentioning that a banner “For free elections without Lukashenka” was hanged out at the picket together with a photo of Marholin, and the signers were asked to sing not in support of Marholin, but for fair elections.

Less than an hour after the beginning of the picket a police patrol headed by the head of the public security department of the Barysau DPD Volkau arrived. The picketers were proposed to pack the agitation materials and signatures sheets and come to the DPD.

The human rights defenders Maryna Statkevich and Aleh Matskevich who came to the police department soon afterwords, learned that the detainees were kept at the conference hall, waiting for a talk with Volkau and the arrival of a member of Barysau constituency election commission #62.

When Maryna Statkevich asked whether she could be present during the talk as a human rights defender or observer, the police demanded that she showed the certificate of human rights defender or observer. As she couldn't have such documents, she was not allowed to be present during the talk.
At 1.42 p.m. it became known that reports of questioning were drawn up against the both of the detainees and one of them even received charges. The trial was appointed on Monday, 6 August.

“Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”

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