Statkevich blames opposition journalists for arrest of Kondrus

Opposition journalists are to blame for the arrest of Uladzimir Kondrus from Rudzensk, ex-political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich claimed. “As far as I understand, he was arrested due to reports in opposition mass media. They recognized him in the photos made at the Square 5 years before. He was banging on a broken window with the piece of a drain pipe,” he wrote on Facebook.

One of Belarusian websites published photos of participants of the Freedom Day-2016 action in March. A man in the photo resembled the person who was breaking windows of the House of the Government on December 19, 2010, the reporter noted. He was called ‘an instigator’. The person in the photo is Uladzimir Kondrus. He was detained and accused of Decmeber-2010 mass riots the other day.

Statkevich does not understand why the most active and resolute participants of the Square-2010 are still called instigators. He called the reports that resulted in the arrest of Kondrus ‘a tip-off’. The authors should apologize to the protester who is in jail now, he thinks.

The authorities are trying ‘to threaten potential protesters’ for fear of new protest actions in Minsk, the politician believes.