The following callout was published on the Moscow ABC site by the Belarus ABC & friends of the arrested:
In connection with the situation about repression of anarchists and social activists getting worse WE – anarchists, friends and nearests of repressed ones – are calling you to take part in Days of Solidarity with Belarus Anarchists on the 10-13 December 2010. We consider that only international protests against repressions of independent activists trying to change things in Belarus for the better are able to make Lukashenko (Belarus president since 1994) give the go-ahead to stop mass arrests and to close political cases of Dedok, Frantskevich and Vetkin.
In October the actions against repressions of anarchist and left movement activists took place in Austria, Belarus, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. Thank you for your solidarity! The actions supported both hearts of locked up Nikolai Dedok and Alexander Frantskevich and encouraged repressed activists.
Nikolai Dedok and Alexander Frantskevich were charged with the art. 339 p.2 of Criminal Code of Belarus (“hooliganism”,up to 6 years of arrest). Nikolai’s arrest is extended up to the 6th of February (totally 5 months of detention). Alexander arrest is prolonged for one more month at the moment. It is clear that the investigation is about to do their best to sentence the accused for a long time.
Maxim Vetkin was arrested on the 4th of November. He is now at the detention center on Volodarskogo st. He is accused of the same article as the other arrested guys – “Hooliganism”, art. 339 p.2 CCB. Due to high level of secrecy and limitation of lawyers jurisdiction we don’t have more information for now.
Nikolai Dedok is blamed for the organization of an anti-militarist demonstration when a smoke bomb was thrown to the enclosed territory of General Staff (video of the action).
The theory of the investigation is that Alexander Frantskevich was shooting on camera the symbolic attack on the police station in Soligorsk, when one window was broken. The room didn’t get trespassed. We are sure the cases of Dedok, Frantskevich and Vetkin are politicized – the level of charges does not correspond the incidents.
As we have found out Belarus special forces work side by side with Russian ones supposing that there is a single whole “extremist” network. Investigators frighten friends of the accused trying to make them slander Dedok and Frantskevich and to recruit them for working as agents in the movement.
Harassment, arrests and interrogations of the anarchists and social activists continue. Our comrade Sergei Slyusar spent 10 days under detention without any charges after a solidarity action in Bobruisk where the KGB building had been pelted by unknown persons with Molotov cocktails. Sergei was arrested only because he was an anarchist and had the misfortune to live in Bobruisk. A musician and professional architect Anton Novikov was arrested for 3 days on the 27th of October. It is impossible to ascertain how many people exactly went through pressure by specs but the number of them already exceeded 50 in seven cities in Belarus.
Two more our comrades are forced to hide from Belarus secret police. We believe the activity of special forces will only increase in appearance of president elections in Republic of Belarus dated on the 19th of December – they’ve got to gain favor with chiefs for the next star on shoulder straps. (Bristol ABC note – background info on election from BBC).
1. On days of the united actions carry out impressive actions in your cities during official political and cultural events linked to Belarus as well as near embassies and consulates of Republic of Belarus, demand the meetings with official representatives and give them petitions. Any Belarus companies, goods, events are able to be fortunate causes of action;
2. Involve local human rights advocates for bringing up the problem about prosecutions in Belarus;
3. Demand publishing the information on the situation in Belarus in mass media.
You can also send a letter of solidarity to the arrested by mailing us, and then we will forward in to the comrades. Or mail directly to the detention center:
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Dedok – Prizon N8, ul.Sovetskaya, 22-a, Zhodino, Minskaya oblast, Belarus, 222160,
Aleksander Frantskevich – SIZO-1, room 46, ul.Volodarskogo, 2, Minsk, Belarus, 220050,
ABC Belarus, friends and family of the arrested
Contact: minsksolidarity at riseup.net