Dozens Of Leaflets In Support Of Oleg Sentsov Posted In Mahiliou

Activists held a campaign before Putin’s arrival in the city.

After the ban on the picket, Mahiliou human rights activists Aliaksei Kolchyn and Aliaksandr Burakou held an information campaign, mspring.online reports.

Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov was detained in the Crimea, where he lived, on May 10, 2014. In 2015, he was sentenced by a court of the Russian Federation to 20 years in prison on charges of “terrorism”. Sentsov denied the charges and held a long protest hunger strike. A number of international human rights organizations supported the director and recognized him as a political prisoner.

“We prepared about fifty sheets with information about the fact that while the city is excitedly awaiting Putin’s arrival, 56 people are rotting in the Russian colonies and prisons – director Oleg Sentsov, human rights activist Oyub Titiyev and others,” – Aliaksei Kolchyn says.

According to Burakou, they acted openly.

– Everything was done within the framework of the existing law. We have posted leaflets about political prisoners at authorized sites – special information boards near the entrances, at stops and advertisement hoardings. We tried to “maximize” the center of the city so that more people would know and remember what is behind the beautiful festivity in honor of the arrival of the Russian president.

The human rights activist says that they have had no problems with the police yet, although he does not rule out a brutal scenario. The main problem, according to the human rights activist, was the search for suitable surfaces:

– If you don’t post leaflets on advertisement hoardings and walls, then there is a very limited number of places that can be used, – Burakou says.

The President of Russia will arrive in Mahiliou on October 12 to attend the plenary meeting of the V Forum of Regions.

We remind that earlier leaflets “Vova, go home” and graffiti “Putin, get out of Belarus!” appeared in Mahiliou.