Aliaksandr (Saša) Vasilievič (Belarusian: Аляксандар (Саша) Васілевіч, also known as Aliaksandr Vasilevich; born 14 September 1974) is a Belarusian businessman, gallerist, publisher, opposition activist, and a former political prisoner.
Career and imprisonment
editVasilievič is a co-founder of the online media outlets kyky.org and The Village Belarus, owner of the Vondel/Hepta agency and a former owner of the Ў Gallery of Contemporary Art.[1][2][3][4]
On 28 July 2020 Vasilievič was detained by police in the KGB building in Minsk, after he tried to file a petition requesting the release on bail of the arrested presidential nominee Viktar Babaryka. The court of the Frunzienski district of Minsk sentenced Vasilievič to 14 days of administrative detention for his alleged participation in an unauthorized protest and chanting outside the KGB building ‘Freedom to Babaryka!’[5][6][7][8]
On 28 August 2020 Vasilievič was detained by officers of the Department for Financial Investigations of the Committee of State Control. Prior to that, his apartment, office and the companies he managed had been searched. Like a number of other socio-political media outlets, the Village Belarus website was blocked by the Ministry of Information.[5]
On 4 September 2020 Vasilievič was formally charged. Due to a non-disclosure agreement signed by his lawyer, it was unknown what charge the businessman was facing.[5][9] Nevertheless, several media announced that Vasilievič was charged with tax evasion.[9]
On 7 September 2020 Vasilievič was declared political prisoner by human rights organisations which explained that:
“The arrest of Aliaksandr Vasilevich […] is a continuation of the wave of repression that was triggered by the calling of the presidential election by the parliament in early May. […] The repression intensified in the post-election period, leading to a sharp increase in the number of people detained and arrested for political reasons. […] Given these circumstances, we conclude that the real grounds for the criminal prosecution […] are political motives aimed at terminating or decreasing their public activities.”[5]
On 10 October 2020 Vasilievič was present in the KGB pre-trial detention centre at a meeting of Lukashenka with his main political opponents.[10][11][12]
After a year and five months in custody, on 4 February 2022, the court declared Vasilievič guilty and sentenced him to three years in a corrective labor colony.[13] He was released in the courtroom due to the expiry of the period of prosecution. Five months after his release, the businessman left Belarus.[14]
Family
editVasilievič is married to Nadzeya Zeliankova who is also a suspect in Vasilievič's criminal case. They have two daughters. The younger, Uršulia, was born during her father's detention. The family was forced into exile.[1][15]
References
edit- ^ a b "Aliaksandr Vasilevich — Political prisoners in Belarus". prisoners.spring96.org. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "Solidarity with Alexander". Solidarity with Alexander. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "On Forms of Political Organizing Illuminating the Future". post. 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "Галерэя сучаснага мастацтва "Ў" закрываецца". 34mag.net (in Belarusian). Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ a b c d "HRDs call to end repression and release political prisoners". spring96.org. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "'Unauthorised mass event'. Business owner gets two-week jail term after visiting KGB". belsat.eu. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ Свабода, Радыё (30 July 2020). "Уласьніка "Галерэі Ў" і яшчэ 7 затрыманых ля КДБ асудзілі на "суткі". Яны прапаноўвалі ўзяць Бабарыку на парукі". Радыё Свабода (in Belarusian). Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "Рэкламісту Васілевічу выставілі абвінавачанне, яго цяжарная жонка — падазраваная". Навіны Беларусі | euroradio.fm (in Belarusian). 4 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ a b "От предупреждений до уголовных дел: как белорусские власти давят на независимые СМИ". BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "Александру Василевичу и Ксении Луцкиной на два месяца продлено содержание под стражей". naviny.by. 2021-02-24. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "Lukashenka met with political prisoners". belsat.eu. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "As if none of it ever happened: The story of Alexander Vasilevich". meduza.io. Archived from the original on 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "Издателя The Village и KYKY Александра Василевича освободили в зале суда". Dev.by. 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- ^ "Бывший политзаключенный и бизнесмен Александр Василевич уехал из Беларуси". Zerkalo. 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- ^ ""У камеры спяць у шапках". Жонка бізнэсоўца Аляксандра Васілевіча — пра свой ад'езд, закрыццё галерэі "Ў" і камеру мужа на Валадарцы". Наша Ніва (in Belarusian). Retrieved 2021-04-11.