Candidate to Parliament, Pastor of Full Gospel Christians Mikalay Kozel Pressurized by Authorities

11.10.2004.

The candidate to the Chamber of Representatives who runs at electoral circuit No. 80, pastor of the Full Gospel Church “Word of Truth” Mikalay Kozel is pressurized by the law machinery.

On 5 October Mikalay Kozel was proposed to come to the police in connection with the application of the vice-head of the executive committee on social work A. Kryvarot, who accused the church “Word of Truth”, representative of the charity foundation “House of Hope” of having used the hall of secondary college No. 42 for liturgy at 12.20 on 3 October.

At the same time there started the check-up of the activity of the charity foundation “House of Hope”. The police routed villages and questioned people concerning the distribution of humanitarian aid. They also checked up the boarding house in Tankava and the children’s home in Vialikiya Navasiolki with which the foundation cooperated. Its accountant has been summoned to organization of combat against economical crimes for several times. During one of the interrogation a policeman said: “Little time is left to withdraw the candidature”.

On 11 October Mikalay Kozel said to Human Rights Center “Viasna”:

-- At first there was the task to find deficiencies in our religious activity, but nothing was found. Then they proceeded to our humanitarian activity – to “House of Hope” and started to summon my proxies to the police. On 9 October they threatened to the accountant and detained him for four hours without any charges. I have to hide because they threatened to arrest me, came to my place in the evening, intimidated my wife and made her take the call-up for me. We filed a complaint to prosecutor’s office despite the fact that we were warned against it. We’d like to turn attention to the lawlessness that is going on in Dziarzhynsk district.

We should remind that pastor Mikalay Kozel was pressurized on the stage of registration of candidates. Circuit commission didn’t register him for allegedly imprecise information in his form. As a result he complained to Central Electoral Commission, which satisfied his complaint. Then he was registered as a candidate to the Chamber of Representatives at electoral circuit No. 80.

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