Viasna to keep going after anarchists’ case trial

September 6, BPN. The Viasna Human Rights Center has said that the persecution of its members is part of the overall crackdown on Belarus’ civil society.

“We declare that we will not stop our human rights activities,” the center said, commenting on sentences to its coordinator Marfa Rabkova and volunteer Andrej Čapiuk, as well as to eight anarchists.

It noted that an impartial investigation was replaced by a dragged out cherry-picking of events and a biased interpretation of “fabricated evidence.”

“We demand that the reprisals in our country be stopped and that all political prisoners be released,” it said.

The Minsk City Court on September 6 imposed lengthy prison sentences on two human rights defenders and eight anarchist activists. Viasna’s coordinator Marfa Rabkova was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and its volunteer Andrej Čapiuk to six.