Damocles' sword in Belarus: Ex-presidential candidate Mikhalevich still may be jailed

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_images_carousel images=”21636,21640,21644″][vc_column_text]The Belarusian Prosecutor’s Office has dismissed the complaint of former presidential candidate and political prisoner Ales Mikhalevich. The politician questioned the Investigative Committee’s refusal to close the criminal case initiated against him in 2010.

“…The prosecutor’s office forwarded the complaint to the Investigation Committee, which was supposed to verify the reasonabless of their own actions! They verified and found no violations. In short, my status has not changed: I am still a defendant for mass riots and may face a prison term up to 15 years,” Mikhalevich said on Facebook.

After post-election protests in December 2010, Ales Mikhalevich was arrested and put in notorious Amerikanka, the Belarusian KGB jail. He was accused of organizing mass riots. In February 2011, Mikhalevich was released, but restricted. At a press conference he claimed he had been tortured by KGB jail, which caused a massive public outcry. Then the politician secretly left Belarus and moved to Czech Republic.

In September 2015, Ales Mikhalevich was detained by Belarusian border guards when he was going on a train to his native country.

Shortly before Ales Mikhalevich’s departure from Vilnius, Belsat TV filmed his statement. According to the politician, he realised that he might be arrested in Belarus:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLSfxVGd3lo”][vc_column_text]

“Firstly, I never wanted to leave Belarus. My family lives in Belarus, Belarus  is my Motherland and I always wanted to return to Belarus. Secondly, the political prisoners have been released. But I’m not sure whether Belarus has become free due to that fact. I am the last accused person over the case of so-called mass riots in 2010 and I am confident that today, a few minutes later, when I come to Belarus, I will be arrested. And it will show once again that Belarus is not a free country, but still, day is very bright and very happy because I’m coming back to Belarus. I’m coming back to the only country where I can be happy. It is a country where my family and I can speak Belarusian, where I can live a normal life and be happy,” he said.

Ales Mikhalevich he was released ‘without changing of the measure of restraint’, which means that the politician will remain under travel restrictions. It is to be recalled that Mikhalevich did not give any written pledge not to leave Belarus in 2010.

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