Alexander Otroschenkov
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Alexander Otroschenkov (Аляксандр Атрошчанкаў, Александр Отрощенков, also
transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...
as Alyaksandr Atroshchankau or Aleksandr Atroshchenko) is a
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
ian political activist and journalist. In 2011 he was sentenced to four years in prison after he covered a protest rally as a journalist. He was listed by
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
as a
prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...
.


History of activism

He was a member of the
Zubr Zubr may refer to: *Żubr or Zubr, the name in several Slavic languages for the wisent or European bison (''Bison bonasus'') *Zubr (political organization), a civic youth organization in Belarus *''Zubr'', a novel by Daniil Granin * TOZ-55 "Zubr", ...
movement of youth. In 2001 he was arrested after the police took a Zubr badge off his jacket at a soccer game. In the same year he was arrested and charged with Article 156 of the Belarusian penal code, "petty hooliganism", after the police confiscated Zubr flags from his friends and arrested 15 people. He was the press secretary for the Zubr movement. He was one of many people charged with "slandering the president" (Article 367, par. 1 of the penal code) around the time of the
2001 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 9 September 2001. The election should have been held in 1999, but a revised constitution adopted in 1996 extended incumbent Alexander Lukashenko's term for another two years. Lukashenko was re-elec ...
. The Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations said he felt his treatment was related to the invitation he had received from
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
to travel to Germany. In mid-2002 he was jailed for 5 days for participating in the protests of 19 April in the same year. He has worked as a journalist for
Charter 97 Charter'97 (; ) is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a pro-human rights online news outlet taking its inspiration from the declaration. Charter The Charter'97 declaration deliberately echoes the Czechoslovak human rights declara ...
for 10 years. He also was a spokesman for the group named European Belarus. In 2012 Belarusian authorities prohibited Aliaksandr Atroshchankau to leave Belarus form calling to sanctions against regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka Since 2018 Aliaksandr Atroshchankau cooperates with Belarusian media Reform.by as an author of interviews with experts, diplomats and opinion-makers, also worked as a reporter ar NATO HQ He is an expert in , an international expert initiative established in 2018 and aimed at detecting, analysing and countering hybrid threats against democracy, rule of law and sovereignty of states in Western, Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia.


Elections of 2010 and prison sentence

During the Belarus presidential election campaigns of 2010, he was the press secretary for candidate
Andrei Sannikov Andrei Olegovich Sannikov (or Andrei Sannikau, , , born 8 March 1954) is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as a Be ...
. Sannkov's previous press secretary, Oleg Bebenin, had been found hanged; the government claimed it was suicide but his friends suspected otherwise. On 19 December 2010, Atroshchankau was working as a journalist covering the mass protests of the election results. Many of these protests took place at Nezalezhanstsi Square in
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
. He was working for Lithuanian
Delfi Delfi (occasionally capitalized as DELFI) is a news website in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania providing daily news, ranging from gardening to politics. It ranks as one of the most popular websites among Baltic users. Delfi operates in the re ...
, a news portal. He was one of several hundred people arrested on 19/20 December, and one of a few dozen eventually charged with offenses by the government.
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
put him on a list of many Belarusian
prisoners of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...
arrested during the protests. Daria Korsak, his wife, has stood picket outside of the KGB building in Minsk. Atroshchankau was charged with violating part 2 of article 293 of the Belarus penal code (organizing and taking part in mass riot). The court also alleged that he was "part of the mob" and "forcefully tried to burst into the House of Government". According to Belsat TV he pleaded not guilty. Aliaksandr Atroshchankau was subjected to tortures in KGB pretrial detention center for refusal to become KGB informant and testify against his colleges and himself. The trial lasted from 1 March to 2 March. It was in the court for the Frunzenski district of
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
. The judge was Cherkas Tatsiana Stanislavauna and the prosecutor was Tatsiana Maladtsova. Atroshchankau's trial was held at the same time as Aliaksandr Malchanau and Dzmitry Novik. On 2 March, Atroshchankau was sentenced to four years in prison. The Human Rights Centre Viasna wrote that the sentence was "politically motivated and unlawful". It also claimed that the evidence against Atroshchankau and others did not show any violation of article 293. At the time of his arrest he was a student of
International Law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
(Международное право) at the
European Humanities University European Humanities University ( (ЕГУ/EHU), (EHU), (ЕГУ/EGU)) is a private, non-profit liberal arts university founded in Minsk, Belarus, in 1992. Following its forced closure by the Belarusian authorities in 2004, EHU relocated to Viln ...
. The university said that it would work to help him with his education despite the circumstances. On 14 September 2011 Atroshchankau was released along with ten other political prisoners by a resolution of the president. According to Atroshchankau, he did not appeal for a release.


See also

*
2010 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 19 December 2010. The elections had originally been planned for the beginning of 2011. However, the final date was set during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly on 14 September 2010. ...
*
Andrei Sannikov Andrei Olegovich Sannikov (or Andrei Sannikau, , , born 8 March 1954) is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as a Be ...
*
Charter 97 Charter'97 (; ) is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a pro-human rights online news outlet taking its inspiration from the declaration. Charter The Charter'97 declaration deliberately echoes the Czechoslovak human rights declara ...


External links


video of Atroshchankau in the Belarus courtroom
(link at delfi.lt)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otroschenkov, Alexander Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Belarus Belarusian democracy activists Belarusian dissidents Belarusian journalists Living people Belarusian prisoners and detainees Journalists imprisoned in Belarus Year of birth missing (living people)