Alyaksandr Kazulin


Alyaksandr Kazulin (Belarusian: Аляксандр Уладзіслававіч Казулін, Russian: Александр Владиславович Козулин, born 25 November 1955 in Minsk) is the former leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party and one of the candidates who ran for the office of President of Belarus on 19 March 2006. He was a rector of the Belarusian State University (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.

Alyaksandr Kazulin
NationalityBelarusian
Citizenship Belarus
OccupationChancellor BSU

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.[1][2][3][4]

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.[5] 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."[6]

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 and incitement to mass disorder during the events of 25 March.[7] Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience.[8] On 26 February 2008, he was allowed to attend his wife's funeral, after threatening to starve himself if he was not released.[9] On 16 August 2008, he was released from prison altogether.[10]

References
  1. "Belarus rally marred by arrests". BBC News. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  2. "The remarkable consistency of Lukashenko". Politics In Depth. Angus Reid Global Monitor. 9 March 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  3. "Kazulin & Belarus' "elections"". br23.net. 3 March 2006. Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  4. "Belarus: Tightening the screws on dissent". Media Briefing. Amnesty International. 14 March 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  5. Zarakhovich, Yuri (25 March 2006). "Belarus: 'They Knocked My Husband Down and Dragged Him Away'". Time. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  6. Beehner, Lionel (22 March 2006). "Belarus Opposition Candidate Kozulin: 'We're Fed Up' With Dictatorship". Interview. Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  7. "Belarus opposition leader jailed". BBC News. 14 July 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  8. BELARUS: PUBLIC APPEAL: PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE: ALYAKSANDR KAZULIN, Amnesty International, 5 January 2007, Index number: EUR 49/001/2007 (retrieved October 5, 2017)
  9. Schwirtz, Michael (27 February 2008). "Belarus Opposition Leader Freed for Wife's Funeral". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  10. "Belarus dissident leaves prison". BBC News. 16 August 2008. Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
Academic offices
Preceded by
Fiodar Kapucki		 Rector of the Belarusian State University
1996–2003		 Succeeded by
Vasil Stražaŭ


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