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Belarus: Vasilieu is amnestied, Lievanieuski stays in jail

In September 2004 Valiery Lievanieuski (Valery Levaneuski), chair of the Nationwide Strike Committee of Businessmen, and his deputy Aliaksandr Vasilieu were found guilty ofinsult to Aliaksandr Lukashenka (violation of Article #367 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced to two years of colony. Recently the authorities have amnestied Vasilieu. However, Lievanieuski (Valery Levaneuski) wasn´t granted parole. (07-JULY-05).

On 7 July Aliaksandr Vasilieu was released after lunch from the Minsk prison in Kalvaryiskaia Street. At 8 p.m. he returned home in Hrodna. Several days before Mr. Vasilieu was summonsed to the amnesty commission, where they told him he was entitled to amnesty as a prisoner who had served a third of his term and did not have many violations.

Refused amnesty

On 30 June Valiery Lievanieuski was summonsed by the amnesty committee which told him that he had been refused amnesty because of his “poor conduct”. In his letter sent home Valiery Lievanieuski notes that amnesty first of all covers those who, even with several criminal records, have been able to get on good terms with the correctional facility administration.

The letter says that the only change in the life of the political prisoner was that he finally got the job of an orderly in the medical section of the prison, which in fact is a cleaner´s position. He will be paid 9 thousand rubles per month (three US dollars a month). Valiery Lievanieuski says in the letter that such work cannot make him happy but this is better than nothing.

In the photo: Valiery Lievanieuski

Belarus: Vasilieu is amnestied, Lievanieuski stays in jail In September 2004 Valiery Lievanieuski, chair of the Nationwide Strike Committee of Businessmen, and his deputy Aliaksandr Vasilieu were found guilty of insulting Belarus’ President Aliaksandr Lukashenka and sentenced to two years of colony. Recently the authorities have amnestied Vasilieu. However, Lievanieuski (right) wasn´t granted parole. (07-JULY-05).

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The additional information

Valery Levaneuski – Belarussian political and social activist, former political prisoner. Amnesty International recognizes him as a prisoner of conscience

On 7 September 2004, he was sentenced to two years in prison for publicly insulting the president of Belarus (A.Lukashenko). The judge decreed that a leaflet which Levaneuski had distributed prior to demonstrations on 1 May 2004 in particular contained a text:

“come and say that you are against ’somebody’ going on holiday skiing in Austria and having a good time at your cost”

Since Alexander Lukashenko is known to have spent his holidays in Austria, the judge decide that leaflet contains a public insult to the President.

On 16 September 2004 European Parliament calls on the Belarus authorities to release immediately Valery Levaneuski and all other imprisoned political opponents of the regime.

Valery Levaneuski – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Official Site 2 (Russian and English)