OPPOSITION YOUTH LEADER RECONSIDERS HIS ACTIVITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L MINSK 001136

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREF BO
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION YOUTH LEADER RECONSIDERS HIS ACTIVITIES
FOLLOWING RELEASE FROM DETENTION

REF: MINSK 1110

Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reasons 1.4 (d).


1. (C) Authorities conditionally released youth opposition
activist Pavel Krasovskiy from police custody on October 15,
following 10 days of questioning in connection with two 2005
Vitebsk bombings and a 1999 murder and rape case. After
strong words of support from Ambassador, Krasovskiy admitted
that he is uncertain about whether he will continue his
opposition work for fear of being questioned or imprisoned
again. Krasovskiy stressed that the authorities had no
evidence to convict him in either case, but instead sought
information about his opposition activities and used the
questionings as a "political experiment" to slander and
intimidate opposition activists. End summary.


2. (C) On October 15, authorities released youth opposition
Malady Front activist Pavel Krasovskiy after 10 days in
pretrial detention for lack of evidence connecting him to two
2005 Vitebsk bombings and the rape and murder of two women in
1999 (reftel). The authorities noted, however, that both
cases remain open and Krasovskiy is still under
investigation.

Unending Questions Yield No Answers
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3. (C) On October 19, Krasovskiy told Poloff that the police
subjected him to seven days of questioning for an average of
seven hours per day. Authorities focused most of their
attention on Krasovskiy's opposition activities, his work
with youth in Zhodino and his political views. Krasovskiy
noted that the police asked him only one question about the
bombings but insisted that he is connected to the incident
and perhaps gave the order for the bombings to happen. The
police also took blood from Krasovskiy to run DNA tests in
connection with the 1999 rape and murder cases. Krasovskiy's
lawyer was present for all the questionings, but the
authorities allowed Krasovskiy and his lawyer to have one
only private meeting.

Krasovskiy's Theories on His Detention and Release
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4. (C) Krasovskiy told Poloff that he was certain the
authorities could not implicate him in either case and
therefore detained and questioned him for different reasons.
He told Poloff that before he was taken into pretrial
detention, he was released for one night on his own
recognizance. Krasovskiy suspected that the police released
him because the wanted him to flee the country. Then they
could use his flight as an indication of guilt and thus make
him the scapegoat for the Vitebsk bombings. When Krasovskiy
instead returned to the police the next day for questioning
and was taken into custody, he believed the authorities opted
to use the situation as a "political experiment" to test how
well imprisonment and public slandering of lesser-known
opposition activists would frighten them into stopping their
work.

Krasovskiy Uncertain About Continuing Opposition Activities
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission, who dropped
by Poloff's meeting with Krasovskiy to express their concern
and support, asked the leader about his plans for future
youth activities. Krasovskiy admitted that he was uncertain
about continuing his opposition work in the future,
especially given the amount of time and effort it would take
to rebuild all the files that he lost when the authorities
seized his computers. Moreover, he is afraid of being called
back in for questioning and imprisoned again. Even if the
Vitebsk bombings and the murder charges are dropped, the
authorities could still charge him with leading an
unregistered youth organization Malady Front.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) The government's line of questioning and Krasovskiy's
release suggest that the GOB did not consider him a serious
suspect in either case but instead used the opportunity to
further chip away at the will of the opposition. The
regime's strong-armed tactics appear to have deeply affected
Krasovskiy, but perhaps time and the further deterioration of
democratic freedom in Belarus will prompt the energetic youth
leader to get back in the saddle.

Stewart