Famous Belarusians Sign Letter In Support Of Convicted Anarchists

More than 100 people supported the political prisoners.

Famous Belarusian journalists, writers, artists, photographers, bloggers and activists signed an open letter in support of the convicted anarchists Ivan Komar and Mikita Yemialyanau, whom human rights activists recognized as political prisoners, writes belsat.eu.

The letter says that signatories consider the punishment to Mikita Yemialyanau and Ivan Komar to be excessively harsh and disproportionate to the deed.

“We demand to immediately review the verdict to Mikita Yemialyanau and Ivan Komar, ensuring the right to fair trial. The actions of young people did not lead to any serious consequences, like harm to people's health, serious damage to property. Such an unfair sentence against own citizens is incompatible with the normal development of our country and the civil society,” the letter says.

At the time of publication, 144 people have signed the letter.

The initiator of the collection of signatures was the journalist Yauhenia Douhaya. She emphasizes that this letter is not an appeal, but a way to show one’s civic position.

The letter remains open for signing.

• On February 12, the Savetski District Court of Minsk sentenced anarchists Mikita Yemialyanau and Ivan Komar to 7 years of imprisonment in a penal colony. The anarchists were found guilty of desecration of structures and damage to property (Article 341 of the Criminal Code), as well as intentional damage to historical and cultural values (Article 344 of the Criminal Code).

• According to the investigation, in September 2019, 19-year-old Yemialyanau and Komar threw light bulbs with paint at the building of the Minsk City Court. According to the investigation, the total damage from these actions is 143 rubles 22 kapeykas. The activists are also accused of allegedly trying twice to attack the building of the temporary detention center in the Valadarski Street in Minsk, using Molotov cocktails. In the first case, the Molotov cocktail did not set on fire. The anarchists tried to repeat the action on October 20 - they threw the Molotov cocktail at the door of the detention center. The Molotov cocktail caught fire, but damaged the door slightly - the amount of damage was estimated at 1 ruble 48 kapeykas. In court, Ivan Komar did not admit guilt, while Mikita Yemialyanau admitted guilt partially. Komar also claimed pressure from the law-enforcement agencies during the investigation.

• Human rights activists recognized Yemialyanau and Komar as political prisoners on the grounds that they were sentenced to overly harsh punishment, which is clearly disproportionate to the deed committed.