Militiamen beat Young Front activists for national flags

• 27.05.2008, 9:02

Young Tront activists were sentenced to three days of arrest for raising up national white-red-white flags in Baranavichy.

Four national flags appeared opposite the city hall and the Baranavichy city executive committee in the morning of 23 May. After a while Yaraslau Hryshchenya, leader of Baranavichy Young Front, and his friends Artsyom Lastavetski and Pyotr Ruzau were detained in the street by militiamen. After militiamen searched Yaraslau and found two flags in his bag, they struck the boy down to the ground and began to beat him.

Reports on “using foul language” and “resistance to militia” were drawn up against all Young Front members in a militia department. Judge Boichyk punished the guys with three days of arrest for “bad language” and fines for “resistance”: Lastavetski Artsyom and Pyotr Ruzau got fines of 10 basic units, and Yaraslau Hryshchenya – 15 basic units.

As Yaraslau Hryshchenya told, the detention conditions in the detention facility were normal, but militiamen refused to accept parcels from outside for the Young Front members on weekends.