New charges can be filed against arrested leaders of small businessmen
- 2.03.2009, 11:21
New charges can be brought against Mikalay Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka, Interior Affairs Minister Uladzimir Navumau told to journalists.
“It is expected that Vaukavysk businessmen can be accused of a number of new charges in connection with preparation of heavy and especially grave crimes,” the minister said. He noted that “this case is not related to the blast on July 4 in Minsk”. U. Navumau has also noted that “many of businessmen detained in Vaukavysk cooperate with the investigators”.
As we have informed, on February 8 leaders of entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau, and Uladzimir Asipenka were arrested in Vaukavysk.
On February 18, they were accused of arson of a house of former head of the Vaukavysk militia department. It is remarkable that the arson took place in 2005, and the guilty persons are serving punishment. The arrested businessmen face up to 12 years of imprisonment.
It should be reminded that Yury Lyavonau and Mikalai Autukhovich are former political prisoners, sentenced to imprisonment on a far-fetched accusation for protection of the rights of entrepreneurs. In the beginning of 2008, a measure of punishment was changed for them to restriction of liberty. On February 10, 2009 a hearing on early conditional release of Mikalai Autukhovich was to take place in Vaukavysk.
A note by www.charter97.org: We would like to remind that last week EU countries’ ombudsmen on human rights visited Belarus. An ombudsman from germane Guenter Nooke told to journalists that during the meetings with representatives of the Belarusian government “many issues were discussed”, however the regime failed to explain “reasons of the arrest of the three businessmen (Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau, and Uladzimir Asipenka) clearly”. It looks as if the Belarusian authorities have taken into consideration the critical comments by the European human rights defender.