Vorsha Authorities Got Scared Of One Protestant

The district executive committee got worried that "something may happen".

Daniil, a student at the Vorsha College named after Piotr Masherau, is an activist of the BY Protest campaign, which opposes the recently adopted law on "determents," the Human Rights Center Viasna writes.

To express his attitude towards the law, the guy decided to hold a single picket in a permitted place (in Vorsha Park of Heroes). Daniil submitted a statement to the district executive committee, and there they hurried to inform the college where the boy studies about it. As for "something may happen".

On August 20th, Daniil and his mother were summoned for a conversation by college director Anatol Zuliou, who refused to give the reason for the call.

Already realizing what the conversation is likely to be connected with, Daniil's mother decided to ask the local police officer about the consequences of the authorized picket for her son. According to Daniil, the policeman started intimidating her.

"He said that she would be fired for this, and I would be kicked out of college. And in general, there would be plenty of problems," - Daniil says.

The conversation with the director was held this morning and it's really hard to call it rewarding.

"The executive committee informed the director that I was going to hold an "unauthorized" picket. I explained to him that I had made the arrangements and that he had been misinformed. He started telling me that I and my mother would have problems. Also, according to him, I would put a damper on myself and on the college. He says everybody in college is going to have problems, he's going to have a bad reputation, and so am I," - Daniil says.

Director Zuliou said that it makes no sense to hold a single-person picket, and that nothing can be achieved by it anyway. He asked Daniil to withdraw the notification about the picket from the executive committee.

"If he is asked in the executive committee to get rid of me, he will arrange problems for me. And he sincerely believes that I have been paid for my picket. "You will serve in the army and then go to study!" " Everybody lived like that" - these are his phrases. He also believes that we should support the current government and stay out of politics.

During the conversation, the head of the college was also outraged that the guy's hair is long, and this doesn't correspond to the business style.

The college director emphasized that Daniil's mother would be the one who would have problems. According to Daniil, after all the conversations, she, unfortunately, agreed with the position of the director.

However, Daniil is not going to give up and still plans to hold a single picket.

This is not the first known case of pressure from the administration of educational institutions on students for the desire to hold an authoriised picket. The same situation has recently occurred with Aliaksei Maiseyau, a student of the Mahiliou Economic and Vocational College. The director also summoned him to a conversation and persuaded him not to hold a picket in order not to wrong-foot the college.