REPRESSIONS AGAINST MEMBERS OF A. KOZUIN ELECTION STAFF ARE BEING INTENSIFIED: YULIA KASPER HAS BEEN CHOSEN AS THE NEXT VICTIM

Repressions Against Members of Alexander Kozuin Election Staff Are Being Intensified: Yulia Kasper Has Been Chosen As the Next Victim
Presidential elections in 2006 have already become a history. On the one hand it turned out to be predictable, as according to official sources people`s affection to the regime kept growing, coming close to 100 percent level. On the other hand during these elections people`s protest against lie, violence and iniquity in first tie became evident. Furthermore a real leader has appeared. The leader who was eager to perform real political actions, to struggle for his people and his country, but not imitating the struggle with the regime that is peculiar to political failures.

That is why Alexander Kozulin has been imprisoned since March 25th. He has been imprisoned because he had courage to assault the fortress of regime, while political failures preferred besieging this fortress during ten years and are exhorting to keep doing it in near future. Having neutralized Alexander Kozulin the authority moved to neutralizing his protagonists. Yulia Kasper who was one of the coordinators of the A. Kozulin staff during the campaign was chosen as the next victim.

Yulia`s political activity could not be missed by the authority. She became one of the young social democrats leader in Hrodno, approving herself not only by the maximalism and determination that are peculiar to youth, but by discretion and responsibility as well. Due to her BSDP (Hramada) consolidated its positions in the Hrodno considerably and young social democrats became a leading power in the social democratic movement in oblast. Before the elections Yulia`s honesty and sincerity in relations with people, as well as her talent to persuade youth in vitality of social democratic ideas resulted in growth of the popularity of their leader and energization of social democrats. Moreover due to communications with Yulia about hundred of young people in Hrodno who had not been involved in political activity before, expressed their wish to join Alexander Kozulin`s election staff.

In these conditions the period of collection signatures was really successful. A. Kozulin and social democrats were really popular among students in Hrodno. As Yulia was the student of Hrodno State University, she and her comrades were especially active in students` hostels. But recognizing that it is possible to collect few thousands of signatures for Alexander Kozulin among students would not be logical for the authority, while officially students should have supported pro-presidential BRSM. It was minded by the authority. But at that time there was an order to punish "too active people" after the elections and Yulia was scored up.

She was talked by the ideological staff in the University. They suggested she should not be involved in any political activity and not be a member of political organizations. She was "advised" to change her political views and ideas and not to "break her own life". It also took place before the election campaign, but during the elections ideological staff, pro-rector on instructional work and the dean crossed over to evident threats in regards to dismiss Yulia from the University. Yulia was not afraid of their threats because she has always been good at the University and there were no academic reason for her expulsion. Afterwards there were nights without sleep during the agitation period, observance during the Election Day. On March 20th Yulia together with a group of her peers came to the October square in Minsk in order to support the democracy and freedom. Among the first people she was imprisoned for seven days, having found out the simplicity of being arrested in modern Belarus, as if for "shouting anti-state slogans" and "making the air blue". But she did not regret about these seven days spent at Okrestino (Minsk prison for administrative affairs) because it were seven days under arrest for her own beliefs and the right to think freely.

But it seemed to be not enough for authority that did not forget "too active person". In the beginning of April it became publicly known about the criminal affair connected with allegedly rigged signatures in support of Alexander Kozulin in Hrodno. Just those signatures that were colleted in students` hostels in Hrodno. Yulia Kasper initially turned out to be the only figurant in this criminal affair. Directly from the classes in the University she was taken for the interrogation to the police station. They pressed her psychologically to convince her to witness that all the signatures had been rigged, making threats that otherwise she would have been imprisoned immediately.

During four hours of interrogation she was biased to give false witnesses against the board of the region election staff, to lie that signatures were collected not voluntarily, not because of own beliefs of the people in the lections staff. She was biased to cooperate with KGB, instead she was promised to avoid repressions for having been involved into the election campaign. But here she also kept herself bravely giving up from any witnesses against her comrades. Few weeks were spent in very nervous atmosphere, when Yulia was threatened that she may be arrested at any minute and may be dismissed from the University.

In the hostel were she is living people from KGB broke the door when she was absent and made a search in her room, abasing her as a criminal in front of her neighbors. But as they failed to threaten her and to make witnesses against her comrades the authority moved from words to actions. As the first step they began the procedure of expulsion from the University, making an accuse of absence for classes without reasonable grounds (seven days spent in prison in Minsk).

Thus apparent reason is directed to be flair, but it is evident that the real reason is a "political black mark". The next logical step is the arrest of our comrade Yulia Kasper under the "affair on signatures". We don not want to wait for rigging the facts and imprisoning Yulia for five years (the article foresees until five years in prison) just for her active position and her effective work in this sphere. That is why we ask all our comrades to assist in defense of Yulia Kasper, not to leave her alone under these repressions. We ask our partners to assist in continuation of her study in one of the European Universities in order she could have a possibility to contribute to the future of the European Belarus.
International League for Human Rights - Belarus Update.
 May 20th, 2006