Authorities Want To Start Case Against Andzelika Borys For Organizing Fair In Hrodna

The head of the Union of Poles of Belarus has stated that the authorities deliberately persecute the Polish minority in the country.

Today, the chairman of the Union of Poles in Belarus, Andzelika Borys, was questioned by police officers in relation to an administrative case against her for organizing an “illegal mass event,” Grodzieński Kaziuki, organized annually by the Union of Poles, znadniemna.pl writes.

This year, the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Hrodna, Yaroslav Ksenzhek, and hundreds of activists of the Union of Poles from all over Belarus participated in the holiday of masters in honor of St. Casimir.

The police consider that the report about the event, which was published on the Znadniemna.pl portal, is a proof that Andzelika Borys had organized the fair.

During the interrogation, Andzelika Borys did not deny that she is the chairman of the Union of Poles of Belarus, which is not recognized by the Belarusian government.

She said in an interview that the police officers who interrogated her were dressed in civilian clothes and insisted to hold the interrogation not at the police station, where they allegedly work.

Also, the policemen did not announce the right to the presence of a lawyer during the interrogation.

That was the fourth interrogation for Andzelika Borys during the month. About a week ago, as a representative of the Klerigata company, she attended the interrogation of methodologists from Poland who were sent to Hrodna by the Center for the Development of Polish Education Abroad under the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Poland.

The Belarusian police tried to press charges against the methodologists-consultants, who are on a voluntary basis in Hrodna, for working on the territory of Belarus illegally.

Andzelika Borys believes that the administrative case against her for the illegal organization of Grodzieński Kaziuki and the pressure exerted on Polish volunteers are the elements of authorities’ concerted actions against the Polish minority and organizations representing the Union of Poles in Belarus.

Last time Andzelika Borys was prosecuted for organizing an illegal cultural event in 2008, when she was accused of organizing a concert of a legendary Polish band, Lombard, who sang for Hrodna Poles on the occasion of the Day of Polonia and Poles abroad on May 2, 2008. Andzelika Borys was fined $ 700 dollars for organizing Lombard’s concert.