Case of Mikola Dziadok. The chronicle
Reformist in balaclava (Daily updating).In the evening on November 11th, the well-known Belarusian blogger, anarchist and political analyst Mikola Dziadok was detained.
We are providing coverage of the events.
In 2010, Mikola Dziadok was detained in connection with an attack on the Embassy of the Russian Federation, but pleaded not guilty. He served almost five years as a political prisoner. Later he lived in Minsk, Vilnius and Kaunas. He graduated from the European Humanities University with a degree in International Politics and Economics. He was a journalist, blogger, civic activist and political analyst.
Mikola Dziadok is suspected of violating Article №342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus “On the organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order”. He faces up to three years in prison.
Forwarding adress:
220030
Belarus
h.Minsk
ul. Volodarskogo, 2
SIZO-1
Dedok Nikolaj Aleksandrovich
///
220030
Беларусь
г. Минск
СИЗО-1
ул. Володарского, 2
Дедок Николай Александрович
Financial aid:
You can transfer money as follows (marked Дзядок or Dziadok or by write to the e-mail of ABC Belarus: belarus_abc@riseup.net)
- Sberbank card: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/abcbelarus
- Bitcoin: 1CcxWEswKjXZgXQCds5KcHfemzrAASVbuv
- Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/abcbelarus or belarus_abc@riseup.net
On August 8th officers of the Interior Ministry’s Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBAZIK) carried out a search at the place of residence of Mikola and his girlfriend. At the time the first criminal case was initiated against him. However, unlike other activists with a similar fate, the anarchist decided to stay in Belarus and was more than five months in hiding (farsightedly starting from June, when the first detentions of bloggers began). At the same time, he actively participated in protests, promoted Belarusian agenda among domestic and foreign media and wrote political analysis.
11.11
On the evening of November 11th, communication with him was broken.
11.12
His telegram channel MIKOLA was hacked by the police and a post of an offensive nature was issued aimed at the protest movement and the blogger himself. Later, the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus published a video in which Mikola Dziadok, who was severely beaten and probably poisoned with pepper gas, confessed to administering anarchist telegram channels. The video itself received great publicity, because it shows that the right words were extorted under torture of him.
On the same day, it became known that the 32-year-old activist was detained in a safe house in the Asipovičy district of the Minsk region. According to the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, foreign bank cards, a couple of thousand euros, Molotov cocktails and protest paraphernalia were found there. The press service claims that the suspect received funding from the European Union to destabilize the situation in the country, and received the money to pay Belarusians for participating in protests.
Mikola's comrades created a new channel instead of the hacked one.
11.13
The man was beaten brutally in Minsk in a temporary detention center on Akreścina Street. He underwent his first interrogation with a lawyeress. She filed a petition with the investigator for Dziadok's medical examination, as well as for a forensic examination. The condition of the civic activist on the video from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus shows that he was tortured.
The next independent media have already covered the case of Mikola Dziadok: TUT.BY, Novy Čas, RFE/RL's Belarus Service, Belsat, Current time.
11.16
The anarchist is planned to be transferred to the Pre-Trial Detention Center №1 on Valadarskaha Street in Minsk (the capital of Belarus). Many well-known Belarusian political prisoners are already being held there: bloggers Eduard Palčys, Aliaksandr Kabanaū and Siarhej Piatruhin, politician Pavel Seviarynec and others.
All day long Mikola was in the temporary detention center on Akreścina Street as yet, he managed to see his lawyeress. He sent his best regards everybody, said he felt better/ At the moment he is kept in solitary confinement without belongings.
11.17
In the morning Mikola’s relatives had been specifying his location point, to find out where the necessary belongings could be given. At the time of 9:00 he was in the temporary detention center on Akreścina Street as yet, and the relatives were not able to transfer the parcel (receiving is provided exclusively on thursdays).
That evening he was transferred to the PreTrial Detention Center №1 on Valadarskaha Street.
11.18
The folks transfered the parcel to Mikola, but the custodial staff refused to receive educationally literate (despite presencein the list of permitted items).
11.23
Mikola was officially charged under part 1 of the article 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus “On the organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order or active participation”. The blogger pleads not guilty.
11.24
Human rights organizations recognized Mikola Dziadok as political prisoner.
11.25
The "Mediazona. Belarus" portal reported on tortures of Mikola Dziadok:
"He was threatened with rape by using baton, hit on his hands and heels by using electric shocker; when he raised head, police agents stepped on his head; tortures lasted until 5 a.m."
A man with whom Mikola Dziadok managed to talk in the temporary detention center on Akreścina Street informed the Mediazona. He told that according to Dziadok police agents came to his rented apartment in Sasnovy townlet on 11 p.m. on November 11.
"7 agent's of the SOBR (Special Rapid Response Unit) and the OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit) broke the window and broke into the apartment".
"They immediately started beating him to give a password to enter the system, then they began to smoother him with a pillow. When he began to choke, he gave the password. Then they beat him for a long time until he remembered the password from the Telegram".
After finishing the search, the punishers said that they would now record a video. They pushed him into the closet and used tear gas. "Then they took hom, where he was teargassed in the eyes. They brought him into the House and did not allow him to wash untill the video was made. All the time they threatened to rape him, to urinate on him", - the source continues.
Full article (in Russian): https://mediazona.by/article/2020/11/25/dedok.
12.08
Since December 8 Mikola has been thrown in solitary for seven days because of "intercell communication". However, he does not desponds and says that he is very encouraged by postcards and letters.
12.18
The cell №14, which Mikola was in, was brought into quarantine up to December 27. All the meetings with lawyers were stopped.
12.23
The BY_POL initiative identified the police officers who participated in the custody and tortures of Mikola Dziadok.
They were worked out directly by the officials of the Third Directorate of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBAZIK): Alioksa Aliaksandr Ivanavič and Tarasik Ivan Aliaksandravič.
In October the GUBAZIK officers identified a woman friend person of Dziadok, whom he met periodically with. Tge officers surveilled the young woman and got videos from the Minsk Metro surveillance cameras. The KiPod software developed by the Synesis company was used to identify Mikola among the passengers.
12.28
The quarantine was extended indefinitely. Meanwhile the folks discovered the threats against Mikola, which could not be verified: the lawyers had been denied access to him since December 18.
01.04
The lawyers were allowed access to Mikola. The laweyress Natallia Mackievič revealed more details on the meeting to TUT.BY:
"He is in normal health, in good spirits. More than 100 letters has been given to him for the last week. He os informed about a vawe of people's solidarity actions with him, he is fascinated and happy, he is grateful from the heart to the people, who supports and worries about him."
Nevertheless, Mikola was transferred to several cells during his stay in the Pre-Trial Detention Center №1 (SIZO №1) due to conflicts with cellmates, and conditions of meetings with lawyers did not contribute to providing effective legal assistance.
"Within the last month a specially equipped cabinet has been given to hold the meetings, in which Dziadok has been kept in a metal cage, which is additionally hermetically sealed by plastic panels. That eliminates the possibility of transfer of notes and documents, and the voice has to be risen to talk through acrylic glass. This calls into question the conditions of confidentiality. At that, there are other cabinets in the SIZO №1. But they are not available to the layer to communicate with Dziadok".
The human rights defenders had a reply from the Minsk Prosecutor's Office signed by Andrej Karabieĺnikaŭ, the head of the department for supervision of execution of laws by the Minsk Bureau of Investigation of the Republic of Belarus:
"The Prosecutor's Office refused to investigate tortures and death threat of the anarchist Mikola Dziadok".
02.10
On Wednesday Mikola was transferred to the PreTrial Detention Center №8 in Žodzina (the city near Minsk).
02.26
Mikola was transferred to the PreTrial Detention Center №1 in Minsk.
