Walery Lewaneuski

Walery Stanislawa Petrovich Lewaneuski (.. White carbon black Валеры Станіслававіч Леванеўскі, russ Валерий Станиславович Левоневский / Valeri Stanislavovich Levonevsky, engl Valery Levaneuski, pol walery Lewoniewski;.. * 15. August 1963 in Hrodna ) is a white Russian political and social activists .

He is chairman of a strike committee for market vendors and a former political prisoner . By Amnesty International , he became the prisoner of conscience explained. Lewaneuski is married and has four children.

biography

Walery Levaneuski was born in the city of Hrodna in 1963. In 1979 he took part in the national boxing championships and worked as a locksmith. From 1980 to 1982 he did basic military service in the Soviet Army and was honored by the Soviet and Bulgarian armies. From 1985 to 1991 he worked as a radio master and engineer in the Hrodna plant. From 1991 he was a private entrepreneur and headed the “Regional Public Association for Legal Protection of Taxpayers, Consumers and Car Fans Hrodna” and the Information and Legal Center, Center for Consumer Protection Hrodna.

Since 1996 he has acted as a strike leader of companies in the Republic of Belarus. Lewaneuski was the organizer of several protests and was taken into custody for this activity. He was the founder and chief editor of the Republican newsletter "Entrepreneurs" and a multiple candidate in local and national elections. In all cases, his registration as a candidate was rejected for political reasons. 2001 ran for the presidential post of the Republic of Belarus, but he eventually withdrew his candidacy because of changes in electoral legislation during the elections. From 2004 to 2006 he served a term of imprisonment in the institution under tougher conditions and with the confiscation of his property. He was released on May 15, 2006.

"Lewaneuski criminal case"

On May 1, 2004, leaflets were distributed in Hrodna, in which Walery Lewaneuski invited residents of the city to participate in an approved May Day protest . These leaflets contained the text: “Come and say that you are against“ someone ”taking a vacation in Austria at your expense, skiing there and enjoying life” As it was known that the Belarusian President Aljaksandr Lukashenka was vacationing in Austria the prosecution of Belarus classified the appeal as a "public defamation of the president" . Lewaneuski was arrested while leaving his home on the day he was about to take part in a government-approved demonstration in Hrodna. The local police took him to the local guard room and after confiscating his money and passport, he was taken to a solitary cell. Lewaneuski's children were also arrested on the morning of the same day, but released a few hours later.

On May 3, 2004, Walery Lewaneuski was sentenced to 15 days in prison. The court did not rule on him in the courtroom, but in his solitary cell, which violated the Belarusian court order. On the same day Uladzimir Levaneuski - the son of Walery Levaneuski - was sentenced to 13 days in prison for his active participation in the May Day demonstration. On May 7, 2004, KGB and OMON employees broke into Lewaneuski's home. In a six-hour house search , computers, several documents and valuables were confiscated. The KGB employees later forced Lewaneuski's underage daughter to testify against her father. On the same day and the following days, KGB employees carried out house searches of Lewaneuski's relatives as well as in the offices of public organizations that - according to the security services - could have been involved in the “ defamation ” of the president.

On May 14, 2004 - one day before his 15-day sentence expired, his detention was extended for a further 3 days. On May 18, 2004 Levonewsi was convicted of "public defamation of the President combined with an accusation of committing a serious or particularly serious crime" and found guilty. He was taken out of the solitary cell and sent to the detention center for two more months. On June 4, 2004, Lewaneuski was allowed to meet his wife for the first time in the remand prison. On July 12, 2004, Lewaneuski's detention was extended for another month. His wife turned to the Belarusian President Lukashenka on July 21, 2004 and complained about the inhumane conditions of her husband in pre-trial detention. At the same time against his son Uladsimir a criminal case according to Article 343 of the Criminal Code of Belarus “Organization of an unauthorized protest rally” (prison sentence of up to 3 years possible) initiated. Valery went on a hunger strike that same day .

Lewaneuski ended his hunger strike on July 27, 2004, and one day later the charges against Valery Lewaneuski and his son were overturned. On August 1, 2004, Sergei Schnurow (" Leningrad ") and Alexander Wassiljew (" Splin ") appeared in support of Levaneuski. 14 days later, the court extended the detention period of Lewaneuski in custody even for a month. On September 7, 2004, the Hrodna Court (Judge Demchenko DW, Prosecutor Panasyuk ER) found Valery Stanislavich Levaneuski guilty of "public defamation of the President of the Republic of Belarus, combined with the charge of another serious crime" and sentenced him to two Years imprisonment in the reformatory.

On September 16, 2004, the European Parliament called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release Valery Levaneuski and other political prisoners. He was released on May 15, 2006.

Web links

Movies

A documentary film "In the sights of power" about Walery Lewaneuski won the prize of the XV Polish Film Festival BAZAR in Poznan .

Individual evidence

personal data
SURNAME	Lewaneuski, Walery
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Lewaneuski, Walery Stanislavich (full name); Levonewski, Valeri Stanislawowitsch; Levonevsky, Valery Stanislawowitsch; Valery Levonevsky
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Belarusian political and social activist
DATE OF BIRTH	15th August 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH	Hrodna , Belarusian SSR

[wslde1-1] ANNUAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE OSCE. MAIN EVENTS OF 2004. Activities in the human dimension (page 80)

[wslde2-2] Amnesty International Annual Report Belarus 2005 ( Memento of October 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

[3] Resolution of the European Parliament on Belarus P6_TA (2005) 0080 (PDF; 92 kB)

[4] A documentary "In the Sight of Power" (page in Russian)