Some participants in the Hukannie Viasny celebration at a restaurant in Homiel were summoned to the police for talks. This became known from the “online legal consultation” section of the Belarusian Republican Bar Association website, where users can ask lawyers questions. The question, published on March 26, was highlighted by the Flahshtok outlet.
A user wrote that his daughter was taken to the police several weeks after Hukannie Viasny, held at the station for about eight hours and told that she had taken part in an “unauthorised event”.
“My daughter took part in the Hukannie Viasny ritual in Homiel organised by the Spadchyna restaurant. Several weeks later, officers from the Homiel district police department came to our home and took my daughter to the station for preventive work. Because of this, she missed work at college. After holding my daughter at the police station for about eight hours, they explained to her that she had participated in an unauthorised event. Were the actions of the law enforcement officers lawful?” the user asked.
Lawyer Krystsina Yakuta-Marchuk gave a vague reply: “If there were grounds, they could detain her. And they could explain things as well. We need to look at how everything was documented.”
The user clarified the question twice on March 27 and March 31, but there have still been no replies. According to the clarification, police said that a person must independently find out whether the restaurant had permission to hold the event.
“My daughter was at the police station from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Six hours waiting for the review and a two-hour so-called preventive talk. Two officers spoke with her and issued a note explaining the reason for her absence from work. They gave her no other documents. She was told that she should have found out herself whether the restaurant had permission to hold the event. How appropriate were the actions of the police officers?” the clarification said.
Several dozen people celebrated Hukannie Viasny on March 21 in the closed courtyard of a restaurant. They were detained for “violating the procedure for holding mass events”. According to human rights defenders, one person received 15 days of administrative arrest and several others were fined.
Among those fined was police officer Viktar Shypkou, a recipient of the “For Spiritual Revival” award for his contribution to preserving folk traditions.
