Alyaksandr Kazulin ( be, Аляксандр Уладзіслававіч Казулін, russian: Александр Владиславович Козулин, born 25 November 1955 in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
) is the former leader of the
Belarusian Social Democratic Party and one of the candidates who ran for the office of
President of Belarus
The president of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Прэзідэнт Рэспублікі Беларусь; russian: Президент Республики Беларусь) is the head of state and head of government of Belarus. The office was cre ...
on 19 March 2006. He was a rector of the
Belarusian State University
Belarusian State University (BSU) ( be, links=no, Белару́скі дзяржа́ўны ўніверсітэ́т, ; russian: links=no, Белору́сский госуда́рственный университе́т) is a university in Mins ...
(BSU) from 1996 to 2003 and a government minister serving under Belarus
President Lukashenko but later fell out of favor. He holds a PhD in mathematics and
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
.
Several weeks before the election, on 2 March 2006, Kazulin was beaten and detained by police after attempting to enter the
All Belarusian People's Assembly. He was charged with disorderly conduct and released after being held in custody for eight hours.
During the events following the
19 March 2006 presidential election, on 25 March, Kazulin was present in a confrontation between demonstrators and police. Reportedly he walked to the commanding officer with flowers in his hand, and police knocked him off his feet, beat him up, and then detained him. In a post-election interview Kazulin said, "We're not afraid of tanks and violence; we're afraid of prisons and having no freedom. We're tired of living in a spiritual prison."
On 13 July 2006, Kazulin was sentenced to jail for five and a half years at a court in Minsk. He was convicted for his role in the March protests with the official charge being of
hooliganism
Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events.
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...
and incitement to mass disorder during the events of 25 March.
Amnesty International recognized him as a
prisoner of conscience.
On 26 February 2008, he was allowed to attend his wife's funeral, after threatening to
starve himself if he was not released. On 16 August 2008, he was released from prison altogether.
References
External links
Official home page
1955 births
Living people
Politicians from Minsk
Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Assembly) politicians
Candidates for President of Belarus
Belarusian State University alumni
Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Belarus
{{Belarus-bio-stub