Blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski Released

• 13.01.2020, 19:06

He has told about the amazing solidarity of Belarusians.

On January 11, at about 1.30, blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski was suddenly released from the Homel temporary detention center. Yesterday he was brought to court from the detention center and punished with another 15 days of arrest for alleged participating in a rally against integration with Russia, Radio Svaboda reports.

The first time the blogger was convicted over an alleged participation in a rally against integration in Minsk on December 20, to 15 days of arrest. He was to be released on January 11. But on January 10, he was brought from the temporary detention center to the court, and sentenced to another 15 days of arrest - allegedly for participating in a rally against integration with Russia on January 21. Siarhei Tsikhanouski claimed that he did not participate in the actions - he did not carry flags, did not shout slogans, but covered the actions as a blogger.

"The police took me out of the detention center at about 15.30, and threw me out in the street. I didn’t have a phone, I caught a taxi. It is not known when they will put me in prison again, maybe even today. They said in the detention center that they still have no court decision for the next 15 days for me," the blogger said live after leaving the detention center.

He promises to go on air in the evening, and tell the details about his detention and conditions in the detention center. During Tsikhanouski's stay there, many people sent him letters of support and postcards. "They did not pass the correspondence to me. Only today, after leaving the detention center, they gave me a backpack of postcards and letters. I am grateful to everyone, and I will answer everyone," said Tsikhanouski.