Aliaksandr Vasilievič
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
Vasilievič 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
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
Vasilievič 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
- ^ 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.