Prosecutor requests four years in prison for veteran trade union leader

December 23, BPN. Alaksandr Jarašuk, long-time leader of the outlawed Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, may be sentenced to four years in prison, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

The prosecutor also requested a two-year prison sentence for Jarašuk’s deputy Siarhiej Antusievič and an 18-month prison term for accountant Iryna But-Husajim.

Trade unionists went on trial at the Minsk City Court on December 20 on charges of grossly disturbing public order. Authorities also accused Jarašuk of calling for sanctions on Belarus.

A wave of arrests of independent trade union activists swept across Belarus on April 18 and 19. In July, the Supreme Court ruled to shut down all Belarusian independent trade unions as well as their umbrella organization, the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions.

International trade union organizations have condemned the crackdown and urged authorities to immediately restore workers’ right to freedom of association.