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Speaking to Amnesty International, Yury Bandazhevsky said that he is now spending his time getting used to his freedom and looking into work possibilities. He was released suddenly under a recent amnesty declared by President Lukashenka on 5 May, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.
However, Amnesty International is concerned that Yury Bandazhevsky will remain under the authorities_ control for the next five years, subjected to various conditions which include having to report regularly to the police, and being prohibited from assuming any managerial or political functions. Amnesty International will continue to campaign for the conditions to be lifted.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION :
On 18 June 2005, Professor Yury Bandazhevsky was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment after being convicted of taking bribes from students seeking admission to the Gomel Medical Institute, where he was a rector. He has always maintained his innocence. Both domestic and international trial observers believed the trial to be unfair and Amnesty International was concerned that he did not have access to a lawyer during his pre-trial detention. Amnesty International adopted him as a Prisoner of Conscience, believing that he was convicted on trumped up charges because of his open criticism of the authorities_ response to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Since 1999, Yury Bandazhevsky's case has been taken up by numerous national and international human rights organizations (see related NEAR alerts) as well as by celebrities including the popular Russian rock band Leningrad Cowboys and the English rock band The Cure.
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