Zmitser Dashkevich welcomed in Hrodna (photo, video)
The political prisoner who was jailed in December 2010 has been released this morning.
Zmitser’s wife, dozens of friends and journalists met him near Hrodna prison.
Zmitsier Dashkevich told Euroradio upon release: "Thank you! I feel okay. We are trying to stage an action here.... The guys from Young Front should fancy something up... How was I released? At 06.30 they unlocked the doors and said: "Here you go, Dashkevich. We can't stand you anymore in here"... What helped me to hold on and endure all these years? God helped me and my beloved wife and friends, the faithful. Big thank you to everybody!!"
The leader of unregistered organization Young Front Zmitser Dashkevich and his fellow Eduard Lobau were arrested on December 18, 2010 ahead of the presidential elections. They were charged with beating two Minsk residents and convicted. The detention of Young Front leaders were described by politicians and human rights defenders as a preventive measure of intimidation ahead of the election day.
In March 2011, Dashkevich was sentenced to two years in prison for alleged hooliganizm. In 2012 when at a colony in Hlybokaye, he received additional one year in prison for "malicious disobedience to prison's administration." Dashkevich had stayed in the Hrodna prison since the fall of 2012.
Upon release, Zmitser Dashkevich will remain under preventive police supervision for six months. This means he will have to remain in his apartment from 0800 till 0600 and to check with the police three times per month. Zmitser Dashkevich is 32 years old.
