Parfiankou sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment in colony of strict regime

The former member of the presidential candidate Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu's nomination group Vasil Parfiankou has become the first of the 42 suspects in the "December 19 mass disturbances" The trial was declared open, unexpectedly, and the photographers and video-operators were allowed to shoot in the court hall before the trial started.

However, not everyone managed to get into the court hall, which admits only about 40 people. Journalists and representatives of the diplomatic missions were admitted first, but some media representatives had to wait for the information from the court hall behind the doors.

The public prosecutor Zaharouski made everything clear in the very beginning: he demanded that Parfiankou should be considered guilty not only in participation in the mass disturbances, but also in "demolishing of property" and "armed resistance to the police". The public prosecutor demanded that Parfiankou should be sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment.

Zaharouski: “He took part in the mass disturbances, which were accompanied by demolishing of property and armed resistance to the authorities' representatives, acting within a group of people, upon preliminary agreement with unknown persons, in the time period on December 19-20”.

However, according to the public prosecutor, demolishing of property looked as follows: Parfiankou 'hit the wooden fences near the entrance of the building 61 times". How the youngster committed armed resistance to the police, he didn't explain at all. However, he enlisted all the weapons found by the policemen after the action at the Square had been dispersed. 65 metallic rods, 11 spade handles, 3 ice-axes, a jimmy and an axe, and wooden blocks. However, Parfiankou's fingerprints were found on none of this "material evidence".

Correspondingly, the former member of Nyaklyaeu's nomination group admitted his guilt only partly - he admitted that he had participated in the peaceful action at the Square on December 19. When the judge Volha Komar asked him why he went there, he answered: "To express my disagreement with the official voting results". 

Besides, speaking about the December 19 events, Vasil Parfiankou accidentally refuted all the previous statements of the high state officials with regard to the quantity of mini-buses which accompanied Nyaklyaeu's column.

Vasil Parfiankou: “Nyaklyaeu and Dzmitryeu went out and said we were going to the Square then to wait for the voting results. We headed for the Kastrychnitskaya Square. A BUS accompanied us”.

Volha Komar: “BUS — what is it?”

Vasil Parfiankou: “A mini-bus”.

Volha Komar: “A mini-bus... So, it was moving, and what about you?”

Vasil Parfiankou: “We were walking nearby. Then some strange people in black appeared. Maybe they were policemen, but there were no identification signs on them. They put everyone down to the ground, faces to the snow. Ten minutes later they ordered us to stand up. Then I found out they had beaten Nyaklyaeu and some other people”.

The public prosecutor asked the accused several times whether he had any objects with him which could be used to commit armed resistance to the police or break the glass in the House of Government, or whether he saw such objects on his way to the Independence Square or near the House of Government, during the interrogation. However, the youngster kept on giving negative answers.  

As for the accusation of "demolishing of property", Parfiankou claimed that when he came over to the House of Government, the glass had already been broken. His guilt limits to pushing the wooden fences which blocked the entrance from the inner side. 

At the same time, he told about the presidential candidates' behaviour during these "mass disturbances".  According to Vasil Parfiankou, Vital Rymasheuski, Andrej Sannikau and Mikalaj Statkevich called on people to calm down, not to yield to provocations, not to break the glass or the doors.  

Besides, the civil plaintiff asked to decrease the sum of his claim against the "House of Government destroyers" from almost 30 million roubles to just 14 million 48 thousand roubles.

A witness - a member of Nyaklyaeu's nomination group Juras Fabisheuski - was also called to the court. However, he said nothing which could be considered as confirmation of Parfiankou's guilt, during the interrogation. A video-film about breaking the glass in the House of Government, shot , most likely, by the special services' operators, was also demonstrated during the trial. The court, the audience, the guards and Vasil Parfiankou attentively listened to Andrej Sannikau's speech, appeals of Kastusyou and Statkevich to conduct new election without Lukashenka, looked at the people who really had broken the glass and smiled when the author of the film started screaming "These are our people!" to the riot policemen. 

Photo by: Zmitser Lukashuk