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Vitsyebsk opposition activist Vital Kavalenka sentenced to five days in jail for allegedly using obscene language

A judge in Vitsyebsk on July 9 sentenced Vital Kavalenka, a local opposition activist, to five days in jail for allegedly mouthing obscenities at police officers.

His elder brother, Syarhey, was arrested by police near his home on Thursday night and placed in a detention center.

The brothers’ mother, Lidziya Kavalenka, who witnessed Syarhey’s arrest, told BelaPAN that authorities had jailed her sons in an apparent move to isolate them for the period of the government-sponsored Slavyanski Bazar festival to be held in the city. She said that Syarhey might also be accused of using obscene language.

The festival’s opening ceremony, scheduled for Friday night, is expected to feature Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

In early January, Syarhey Kavalenka created a scandal by putting a white-red-white flag on top of Vitsyebsk’s tallest Christmas tree. For that act, he was charged with “deliberate actions that grossly disturb the public order and show evident contempt of society” under Article 339 of the Criminal Code. On May 14, he was sentenced to a suspended three-year prison term with probation.