Militia actions appealed against: Illya Bohdan spent 26 hour without food and water in militia department

• 22.08.2008, 13:44

Lawyer of the Young Front activist Illya Bohdan will appeal against unlawful actions of militia during detention of the oppositionist on a suspicion of implication in 4 July blast.

Illya Bohdan was detained in the Minsk center some days after the blast in Minsk.

– A minibus stopped and two men got out. They showed their KGB cards, – the 20-year old youth activist tells to “KP v Belarusi” newspaper. – They said I was a suspected person in the blast case and asked to go with them. It was about 7 in the evening.

After some minutes Illya’s apartment was searched. The guy was guarded to the investigation directorate on Sapyorau Street at 9 in the evening.

There a report on Illay was to be drawn up, but the investigators hurried home and guarded the boy to the Maskouski district militia department. He was to be guarded to the special detention center on Akrestin Street from there. But Illya spent 26 hours in the Maskouski district militia department. He wasn’t given food or water. His mother managed to pass cookies and a bottle of water only the next day.

– We wrote two complaints against unlawful detention to the Tsentralny district court and the prosecutor of Minsk, – lawyer of the Minsk city bar association Paval Sapelka told. – we received an answer that two officers of the Maskouski district militia department were brought to “disciplinary responsibility”.

As the press cervices of the militia department of the Minsk city executive committee explained, the militiamen were reprimanded.

– We are satisfied even with this answer. The very fact the actions of the militia officers were found unlawful and estimated is important, – Paval Sapelka says.