The Maskouski District Court of Minsk punished Zmitsier Kaspiarovich with 5 month imprisonment

27.02.2006.

On 27 February several tens of people from different political parties and youth movements came to the Maskouski Borough Court. Zmitsier Kaspiarovich was kept in a cage, as a dangerous criminal. The guy did not agree with the charges. He said that he was prepared to bear responsibility for degrading the national flag, but not for disorderly conduct. He said that he had received normal upbringing and had never acted like a hooligan.
The BPF leader Vintsuk Viachorka attended the proceedings in court. He called the case against Zmitsier Kaspiarovich an example of double standards used in court. He reminded how in 1995 Ivan Tsitsiankou had treated the then national white-red-white flag: "I think the response of the authorities did not correspond to the crime committed, if there was any. What is still more important is there should be no double standards. I mean that if it was ok for someone to tear the 1991-1995 national flag into pieces right in front of the country and get away with it, how do they want other people to act if they cannot stand this artificial state symbol".
Judge Tatsiana Unukievich required two and a half hours to deal with the case and a pass a verdict – five months of arrest.
Paval Ialovik, a Young Front activist, believes that Zmitsier Kaspiarovich was punished with arrest so that he does not take part in the planned street actions in the spring: “Now they are putting the most active opposition people behind bars to isolate them from the community”.
Zmitsier’s lawyer Paval Sapielka will appeal against the court ruling.

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