Anarchists "Damaged" Doors Of Minsk Pre-Trial Detention Center For 1.48 Rubles

• 10.02.2020, 12:06

They might go to jail for 12 years for doing that.

The trial of two anarchist activists has begun in the Savetski district court of Minsk: they are accused of throwing bulbs with paint over the Minsk City Court building in September 2019, and in October, they threw a Molotov cocktail towards the detention center in Volodarsky street, Belsat reports.

19-year-old Mikita Yameljanau and Ivan Komar found themselves on the defendant's bench. They were detained on October 20, 2019. The activists were charged under Article 341 of the Criminal Code ("Desecration of buildings and damage to property"), Article 295.3 ("Unlawful acts involving the items with combustible substances") and Article 344 of the Criminal Code ("Intentional damage to historical and cultural values"). The judge - Aliaksandr Yakunchykhin.

The trial is held under extreme safety precautions. People are allowed into the courtroom through two metal detector frames and after the personal inspection - at the entrance to the building and in front of the courtroom.

A paddy wagon and a police minibus are parked near the building, the riot police are on duty in the street. There are a lot of policemen in civilian clothes in the court building, and the operative video recording is being made. The policemen escorting the anarchists are dressed in armored jackets.

According to the state prosecutor, Yameljanau and Komar threw bulbs with paint at the Minsk City Court building in September 2019. The total damage from these actions is 143 rubles. However, the investigation has not even found out the exact date and time of the anarchists' attack - the case file refers to the period from 24 to 25 September. These actions are qualified under Article 341 of the Criminal Code ("Desecration of buildings and damage to property"). Earlier, the anarchist communities in social networks called the throwing of light bulbs with paint at the Minsk city court building a campaign of solidarity with Dzmitry Paliyenka, who was then facing the trial.

Also, the young people are accused of making Molotov cocktails - these actions are qualified under Art. 295-3 ("Unlawful acts involving the items with combustible substances"). Using Molotov cocktails, the activists had allegedly twice tried to attack the building of the detention center-1 in Volodarsky street in Minsk. According to the prosecutor, on October 12 or 13 (the investigation failed to find out the exact time of the event), the guys tried to damage the administrative building of the detention center "by throwing Molotov cocktails". However, the Molotov cocktails did not inflame then. The anarchists tried to repeat the attack on October 20 - they threw a bottle of Molotov cocktail at the door of the pre-trial detention center (according to the anarchist groups, it was done in protest against the persecution of anarchists and anti-fascists). The Molotov cocktail flamed up, but the door was only slightly damaged - the damage was estimated at 1 ruble 48 kopecks.

However, the investigation claims that the detention center building in Volodarsky street is part of the architectural complex "Pishchalau Castle" - a historical and cultural value of the 2nd category. Thus, the anarchists' actions were qualified under Part 2 of Article 344 of the Criminal Code (intentional damage to historical and cultural values). The maximum term under this article is 12 years of colony.

The defendants pleaded not guilty. Yameljanau and Komar also refused to testify at this stage of the trial - they are ready to answer questions only after all the witnesses have been questioned. Yameljanau did not give any testimony and during the investigation, Komar gave only partial testimony.

A representative of the pre-trial detention center - the plaintiff - was questioned in court. A woman named Narchuk admitted that the damage to the door was insignificant and it did not take much effort to eliminate the consequences of the "anarchist attack".

- What did you do for this amount - 1 ruble 48 kopecks? - the prosecutor asked.

- The door was cleaned up (the damaged part) and painted again, - the plaintiff's representative replied.

In addition, the representative of the pre-trial detention center admitted that there is no information on the building's facade that it is a historical and cultural value - the corresponding sign can be found only inside, "on the restricted access territory". Besides, the defendants' lawyers had a question: is it possible to consider the doors of the building as a historical and cultural value? The plaintiff's representative could not answer when the doors were made (that is, if they are modern or of the 19th century origin).