ON THE LUKASHENKA REGIME'S JUDICIAL REPRISALS AGAINST MR. SIARHEI KAVALENKA

(Appeal)

December 19, 2011 Mr. Siarhei Kavalenka, member of the Conservative Christian Party – Belarusian Popular Front, has been arrested in Vitebsk. He has been for no reason charged of the violation of the previous conditional sentence and imprisoned. The point is that Mr. Kavalenka had been sentenced by the regime's court in 2009 because he hoisted the Belarusian national White-Red-White flags in the center of Vitebsk. After the last arrest the police had for no reason declared him guilty of “the insubordination and the use of foul language” (the regime is using this false formulation regularly against the democratic activists). The state authorities have started the judicial process against the patriot.

December 19, 2011 Mr. Kavalenka has got on hunger-strike in his cell protesting against the false charges. During the judicial process the court is using the false witnesses prepared by the authorities: the police officers and other officials of the regime's structures. Mr. Kavalenka is not able to participate adequately in the discussions in the court-room because he became weak by the hunger-strike. His mother and wife have tried to give him a glass of water in the court-room but the guards didn't permit them to do this. Then Mr. Kavalenka's mother and wife have called the ambulance but the guards didn't permit the medical personal even to speak with the prisoner.

Mr. Siarhei Kavalenka is the political prisoner of the anti-Belarusian regime. He has problems of health because of the heart decease. His family and his lawyer demanded to transfer him from the prison to the hospital but the authorities didn't answer them.

The regime's structures are acting brutally and cynically against Mr. Kavalenka's family. The police patrols enter at night to the Mr. Kavalenka's apartment imitating “the inspection”. Mr. Kavalenka's two small children are intimidated and cannot sleep. These incidents have negatively influenced the health of the children.

We qualify the actions of the regime's structures against Mr. Siarhei Kavalenka as tortures and violation of human dignity of the helpless person. These criminal actions are carried on in the court-room in presence of the officials responsible for the execution of the Law.

We appeal the Belarusians in the emigration, the governments and parliaments of the democratic countries, the humanitarian organizations and all the persons of good will to help to save Mr. Siarhei Kavalenka whose life is in danger. His family — mother, wife and two children (a boy and a girl, 7 years and 6 months olds) — has not any means of subsistence and needs the help. The anti-Belarusian regime is responsible for the savage reprisals against the Belarusian patriot and his family. Mr. Kavalenka's family is in danger of starvation and can be driven out their apartment.

The leadership of the Conservative Christian Party — Belarusian Popular Front

January 4, 2012

Minsk