Opposition activist arrested on return to Belarus from Poland

May 19, BPN. Arciom Dubski, who came to Belarus from Poland to visit his family, was beaten by six masked men at a shopping mall in central Minsk on May 11 and arrested for allegedly sharing extremist material, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Committee for State Security agents interrogated Dubski about his possible recruitment by Polish secret services, whether he had any military training or was associated with the opposition. He was released on the same day and told to come back later.

Viasna reported later that unidentified men bundled Dubski into a van and drove away in Asipovičy, Mahilioŭ region, on May 13. An investigator phoned his family on the evening of May 18 to say that Dubski was held at the detention center on Akrescina Street in Minsk.

Dubski was a leader of the Asipovičy cell of Malady Front, an opposition youth organization. In 2008, he was given a two-year suspended sentence for participation in protests. His sentence was changed to one year in prison after he had violated the terms of his suspended sentence by travelling abroad. In 2011, Dubski moved to Poland. His brother, Iľia Dubski, is serving a five-year prison term for inciting hatred and violence or threat of violence against a public official. Human rights defenders declared him a political prisoner.