Opposition Activist Convicted of Sedition

UNCLAS MINSK 000580 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM BO SUBJECT: Opposition Activist Convicted of Sedition ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On May 25, a Milinkevich campaign worker, Sergei Lyashkevich, was tried in Shchuchin regional court on charges of inciting mass disorder. The prosecution's evidence included seized electronic media, written testimony, and oral testimony by two dubious witnesses. Following the prosecution's presentation, the prosecutor requested a prison sentence of six months. On May 29, Sergei Lyashkevich was sentenced to five months in jail. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On May 25, Sergei Lyashkevich, who headed Aleksandr Milinkevich's presidential campaign in the western city of Shchuchin, was tried in Shchuchin regional court for allegedly violating Section 3 of Article 293 of Belarus' 2005 amended criminal code, which prohibits training, financing, and other preparations for mass disorder. Lyashkevich faced sentences ranging from six months' arrest to three years' restricted freedom. ¶3. (SBU) Poloff accompanied a delegation from three EU missions (Latvia, Czech Republic, and France) to observe Lyashkevich's trial. Representatives of the OSCE also observed the trial, as did local media and Lyashkevich supporters such as former presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich and Vintsuk Vyachorka, Chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front. ¶4. (SBU) The trial began with testimony from two prosecution witnesses, Aleksandr Burdzey and Vitaly Shkurko. The former had been accused of petty hooliganism three previous times. Both witnesses claimed that Lyashkevich trained them for participation in riots in Minsk. Before Burdzey's testimony, a court officer read aloud a transcript of a recording of an alleged conversation between Burdzey and Lyashkevich. The court never played the recording itself during the proceedings. Burdzey testified that during this conversation Lyashkevich and he discussed payment for his travel to Minsk on March 2 so that Burdzey could participate in riots. During cross-examination by Lyashkevich's defense attorney, who also had represented "Malady Front" youth activist Artur Finkevich two weeks earlier, Burdzey was unable to answer where he had met Lyashkevich, why he had recorded the alleged conversation, or what exactly Lyashkevich had asked him to do in Minsk. ¶5. (SBU) Shkurko's testimony was similar to Burdzey's in terms of content and inconsistency. For example, Shkurko could not specify whether Lyashkevich allegedly showed him and his fellow trainees provocative video recordings on a computer or television. Later, the judge read a letter from another witness called "Mr. Novagran" who described Lyashkevich as a malicious opposition activist. ¶6. (SBU) Following oral and written testimony, the prosecution presented additional evidence which police had allegedly seized from Lyashkevich, including VHS tapes, DVDs, and English-language print materials apparently published by international civil-society NGOs. The court played parts of a film called "Ordinary President" by Yuri Khaschevatski and clips of violent police crackdowns on demonstrators in Minsk. In some scenes of the video presentation, President Lukashenko was portrayed in caricature as a hockey player and farmer. In other scenes, Lukashenko's image was juxtaposed with images of Hitler and Stalin. In at least one clip, Lukashenko's image was accompanied by the words "Stop Luka." The recordings also contained video interviews with anti-Lukashenko activists and audio of English and Russian-language protest rock music. However, neither Poloff nor the members of the EU delegation saw anything in the video presentation that condoned or encouraged violence against the police or other government officials. ¶7. (SBU) Throughout the prosecution's case, the court experienced several technical difficulties such as a lack of audio during video presentations and court officers who appeared unfamiliar with the fast-forward and reverse functions of the equipment. The judge increasingly seemed impatient with both the substantive and technical aspects of the evidence. After the prosecution's case against Lyashkevich was complete, the prosecutor requested six months arrest. The defense was given the right to cross-examine the witnesses. The judge announced that the verdict and sentence would be issued on May 29. On May 29, Sergei Lyashkevich was sentenced to five months in jail. KROL