Why is former presidential candidate Dmitriev on trial in Belarus?
On Wednesday, April 5, the trial of the case of former candidate for the presidency of Belarus in the 2020 elections, Andrei Dmitriev, began at the Minsk district court in Moscow on Wednesday, April 5. The opposition politician is accused of “organizing actions that seriously violate public order” (Part 1, Article 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus). If he is found guilty, he faces up to four years in prison.
After the indictment was announced, Dmitriev said he fully admits his guilt and regrets it. The Public Prosecutor’s Office asked for 2 years in prison for the defendant. The verdict is scheduled for Thursday, April 6.
Accused of contacts with the US State Department
According to the indictment, the former presidential candidate “took part three times in unauthorized mass events”, “joined a group of citizens who grossly violated public order”, “blocked and blocked the passage of vehicles”. According to the court’s state media”responding to the state prosecutor’s question whether he understood that his actions were illegal, Dmitriev admitted:” I didn’t ask myself that question at that time. “He too” noted that he realized that one could only attend officially authorized mass events.
Recall that Andrei Dmitriev was arrested on January 11, 2022. Two days later, the Investigative Commission (CI) of Belarus stated that it “found the involvement” of the former presidential candidate “in extremist activities” and that the politician “took an active part in the street riots that took place on the territory of the capital in August-September 2020.”
Furthermore, it was indicated that Dmitriev “crossed the state border of Belarus 599 times, 33 of them after 2020”. And that “contacts” with representatives of the West and the United States supposedly “may indicate the coordination of their political activities abroad”. In particular, Dmitriev was accused of meeting with the “US Secretary of State”, and a photo of the politician with Hillary Clinton was added to the case.
Belarusian human rights activists recognized Andrei Dmitriev as a political prisoner.
Who is Andrey Dmitriev?
Andrei Dmitriev is 41 years old, from 2001 to 2012 he was a member of the opposition United Civilian Party (UCP), in 2010 he became co-founder and co-chairman of the Tell the Truth movement and head of the campaign headquarters of the presidential candidate in the December 2010 elections, the poet Vladimir Neklyaev.
On the night of the main voting day, December 19, Dmitriev was arrested and soon a video of his brief statement was shown on state television channels, in which he said that the police were not to blame for Nyaklyaev’s beating and that the presidential candidate was beaten up by “drunken thugs”. For this, many opponents of Alexander Lukashenko sharply criticized Dmitriev and even called him a traitor. As the politician himself later said, his future wife was in the KGB with him, and if he refused this statement, the girl would be left behind bars for a long time.
On May 20, 2011 Andrey Dmitriev was sentenced to 2 years in prison with probation for 2 years. He was tried under the same article as now – for gross violation of public order. In 2015, Andrei Dmitriev became the head of the electoral headquarters of presidential candidate Tatyana Karatkevich, and in 2020 he himself ran for the post of head of state. According to the Central Election Commission, 1.21% of voters voted for Dmitriev.
In 2021, the Belarusian authorities closed the public association “Tell the Truth”, officially registered in 2017, and before that it existed as a movement. This was preceded by searches and blocking of the organization’s accounts. On 12 August 2021, Dmitriev was detained but was soon released. He stated that he did not plan to leave Belarus.
What did Dmitriev write about from the pre-trial detention center?
Even before the liquidation of the association “Tell the Truth” by the authorities, the politician began to create a new party, which was supposed to act according to the principle of “citizens for citizens”. “It is in such dark times that it is very important not to give up, to come together and take small steps together, but to move forward every day,” explained Dmitriev of his decision. He remained active on social media, recorded videos in which he criticized the authorities, spoke about political persecution and the war in Ukraine.
After Dmitriev’s arrest in January 2022, his associates posted a video he recorded “for a special occasion” on the Web. The video noted that even knowing that “on this day (arrests. – Red.) will come someday”, the politician “still continued on his way”. Dmitriev emphasized that he was sure: everything that is done to “tell the truth”, “unite with like-minded people” is a step “towards the victory of the human over the inhuman”: “I have crazy faith in us, in you, in our cause. And believed all these years. That’s why I ran for president, that’s why I do what I do. And so I will continue wherever I am. To hold on.”
Already behind bars, Andrey Dmitriev summoned his associates think about the future of Belarus. One of his letters was published in the media: “There is no magic solution here. We should think about how we see Belarus? Independent, integrated into the world. And work for dialogue, not isolation – inside and outside.”
Political scientist: “Dmitriev’s arrest is part of political terror”
Belarusian political scientist Valery Karbalevich recalls meeting Andrei Dmitriev last November at the Riga Security Conference: “I asked him if he was going to emigrate, if he was afraid. He replied that he was scared but wouldn’t go away yet. ” Karbalevich calls the detention of the politician “part of the political terror that is developing in Belarus.” “This is an indicator that dissent as a phenomenon is being eliminated in the country. This is the process of evolution from an authoritarian regime to a totalitarian regime”, believes the DW interlocutor.
As for Dmitriev’s political activities, according to Karbalevich, the former presidential candidate “tried to seek his constituency beyond the limits of the traditional opposition constituency”, he appealed not to those who openly oppose Lukashenka, but to the so-called “neutrals” – undecided people ( with your political preferences. Red.).
“It was these people who formed the backbone of his Tell the Truth company,” notes the political scientist. And he draws attention to the fact that Tell the Truth “distanced itself in every possible way from street actions” and tried to play only within the framework of existing legislation: “But that, as it turned out, did not help. Andre is behind bars.”
Valery Karbalevich also added that in 2021, “when terror had not yet taken on such proportions”, Dmitriev had hopes of creating a new organization in Belarus instead of the liquidated “Tell the Truth”. “Today it is obvious that no opposition parties are possible in Belarus. I think they will remain until the end of the year. And during re-registration, they will all be liquidated,” Karbalevich summed up.
Source: DW
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