Belarusian activists fined for wearing Statkevich T-shirts
Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
Publication Date | 30 September 2013 |
Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Belarusian activists fined for wearing Statkevich T-shirts, 30 September 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5261040516.html [accessed 27 May 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
September 30, 2013
By RFE/RL's Belarus Service
The activists were arrested after a marathon in Minsk that they ran wearing T-shirts bearing the likeness of Mikalay Statkevich, a former presidential candidate who is currently in jail.
MINSK – Four activists in Belarus were fined $140 each for wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a portrait of a jailed opposition politician.
Kiryl Zhyvalovych, Yauhen Naporka, Maksim Dubouski, and Andrey Vislovich were found guilty on September 30 of holding an unsanctioned picket.
The activists were arrested on September 28 after participating in a marathon in Minsk while wearing T-shirts bearing the likeness of Mikalay Statkevich, a former presidential candidate who is currently in jail.
Zhyvalovich, the only one of the four who was released the day of their detention, told RFE/RL before the subsequent hearing that he will decide himself what T-shirt to wear despite any decision by any court.
Statkevich is serving a six-year prison term for "organizing mass disturbances" following President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's reelection in December 2010, which was heavily criticized by Western observers and sparked street demonstrations on election night.
The protests were brutally suppressed by authorities.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website