On December 12, Pavel Sevyarynets, a former political prisoner and co-chairman of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party (BCD), and activist Syarhei Annyankou were detained by the traffic police in Kurapaty near Minsk.
They were taken to Baraulyany police station. According to the BCD website, the men are accused of disobedience to policemen (Article 23.4 of the Administrative Code).
Sevyarynets and Annyankou may face a heavy fine or taking into custody for up to 15 days.
Kurapaty, a place on the outskirts of Minsk, is not just the national memorial and a mass grave of the victims of Stalinist repression; since 1993, it has been is a site of historical and cultural heritage.
Since late May, the group of Belarusian activists is protesting against ‘dancing on the bones’, i.e.the activity of Let’s Go And Eat restaurant in the vicinity of the mass grave under the passive eye of the local authorities. According to the protesters, its construction and opening at the very place was illegal. Activists first asked the authorities to interfere with the situation, and then decided to act independently. They are trying not to let cars to the territory of the restaurant. The Minsk police have already drawn dozens of protocols against activists who had blocked the restaurant that opened at the site of the massacre.
- All Souls’ Day in Minsk: March in memory of Stalinists’ victims in Kurapaty (photos, video)
- Kurapaty: Authorities set up memorial sign at mass execution site
- Official memorial to victims of Stalinist repression opens in Kurapaty
СК, belsat.eu
