Vyachaslau Kasinerau, an activist of the anarchist movement, has been released on his own recognizance on Friday.
The decision was made by Alyaksandr Petrash, a judge of Moscow district court in Minsk. Kasinerau’s case will be considered on April, 27.
“Whatever be the verdict, I have achieved my goal. I wanted to draw public attention to the issues of police abuse and violence and, what is the most important, to their impunity,” Kasinerau told Belsat TV.
On March 28, Vyachaslau Kasinerau, who was serving a 15-day administrative detention for participation in a demonstration on February 17 in Minsk, was charged with an offense under Part 1, Art. 339 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism). The activist was taken into custody and transferred to the Interior Ministry’s pre-trial prison in Minsk.
The criminal charges stem from an action held on March 12 near the Interior Ministry’s building in Minsk, when Kasinerau threw a noose on the statue of a Russian Empire policeman, protesting against police impunity and persecution of activists of the anarchist movement. The Belarusian human rights watchdogs believe that the actions of Vyachaslau Kasinerau do not constitute an offense mentioned above.
On April 5, Belarusian human rights watchdog issued a statement saying that Kasinerau just wanted to voice his protest against police abuse and persecuting anarchist activists for their participating in peaceful protests. According to them, such measures as arresting Kasinerau and accusing him of hooliganism were excessive. The criminal process may be a retaliation act on the part of the police, they said. In connection with the deprivation of liberty on such grounds, human rights activists recognised Vyachaslau Kasinerau as a political prisoner and demanded the Belarusian authorities stopped criminal proceedings and immediately released him.
belsat.eu, following ПЦ «Вясна»
