Belarus man in jail for 15 days after placing blue and yellow candles next to victims of oppression memorial

Vyacheslav Bukas was sent to jail for 15 days in Bobruisk, Belarus, for placing blue and yellow candles (the colours of Ukraine’s flag) next to a victims of oppression memorial, Viasna, a human rights group, reports.

He was identified by his fingerprints after a forensic dactylography analysis. The man was found guilty of unlawful picketing. The judge’s verdict says Bukas “expressed his socio-political opinion before Ukraine’s Independence Day” in August. He pleaded guilty.

The pictures of the candles were posted on Telegram on 24 August; the same pictures were later found in Bukas’s phone gallery. A witness testified in court that he saw Bukas placing the candles and setting fire to them. The day of the national flag was celebrated in Ukraine on 23 August, the next day was Independence Day.