Two citizens of Russia Artem Breus and Ivan Gaponov, being on trial in the Moscow district court on February 22 for taking part in the riots in Minsk on December 19, plead not guilty. According to defendants, they came to the rally at Independence Square "out of curiosity." Prosecutor is insisting on their guilt.
«Breus took part in the riots by prior agreement. As part of a disorderly crowd, he repeatedly tried to break through the police cordon and enter the Government House. He also inflicted multiple kicks in the police shields,» said in the indictment of Artem Breus and Ivan Gaponov, quoted by RIA «Novosti» news agency.
According to Ivan Gaponov, he attended the rally of the Belarusian opposition, but when he was at Government House, its window glass had already been broken, and neither he nor the others, gathered at the square, had any tools with them for making damage.
Also, the Russians have both rejected accusations of having chanted anti-government slogans and having resisted the police; on the contrary, they complained about pressure from the investigation.
As Telegraf previously reported, according to the Counsellor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation Vadim Gusev, the citizens of Russia, Ivan Gaponov and Artem Breus, accused of involvement in the riots, should be released. Lawyers agree that there is no evidence of their active participation in the protest. They attended Independence Square that evening, but did not take active part in the events,» he said.
