Updated at 17:53,27-03-2024

Young man in Mahilyow may lose his job over “silent“ protest

BelaPAN

Alyaksandr Tsalyuk, a Mahilyow resident who spent four days in jail over a "silent" protest staged in the city on July 6, may now lose his job.

The young man, a welder at chemical fiber company AAT Mahilyowkhimvalakno, was reportedly grabbed by a police officer on a street not far from the venue of the protest. Without an explanation, the officer ordered him to follow him into a squad car. Mr. Tsalyuk refused to do that and brought into the vehicle by force.

On the following day, a district judge sentenced Mr. Tsalyuk to five days in jail, finding him guilty of participating in an unsanctioned demonstration and resisting a police officer.

Mr. Tsalyuk announced after his sentencing that he was going on a hunger strike in protest against the judgment. After three days of refusing food, the young man lost consciousness in his cell and was taken to a hospital. He was given intravenous fluids in the following two days and then discharged from the hospital. He would have gone back to work on July 15, but the Mahilyowkhimvalakno management ordered him to bring a document confirming that he had been in detention.
The jail administration refuses to issue such a document until the man has served the remaining 24 hours of his term.