Sergei Dylevsky

Sergei A. Dylevsky (Belarusian: Сяргей Дылеўскі; Russian: Сергей Дылевский; born 1 September 1989) is a Belarusian engineer and, as of 22 August 2020, a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council that aims to coordinate a transition of political power in Belarus in the context of the 2020 Belarusian protests and the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.[1]

Sergei Dylevsky
Сяргей Дылеўскі
Сергей Дылевский
Born (1989-09-01) 1 September 1989
Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union (now Belarus)
NationalityBelarusian
Occupationengineer
Known foractivist, dissident

Early years

Dylevsky was born on 1 September 1989 in Minsk to working-class parents, who, as of 21 August 2020, were employees at Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ). He studied machine construction at a technical college in Minsk and chose to become a steel temperer.[1]

2020 election protests

Following the 2020 Belarusian presidential election and continuing 2020 Belarusian protests in early August 2020, Dylevsky was angered by security forces' violent crackdown on protestors. He drove several protestors to hospitals and called for a strike at Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ). He was joined in the strike by workers calling for political prisoners to be release and for new elections, leading a group of 1,000 workers on a march to the centre of Minsk.[1]

On 17 August, Dylevksy led a march of 5,000 striking MTZ workers.[2]

On 18 August, Dylevksy stated that 50 people demonstrating in front of MTZ to support the workers were detained.[3]

On 19 August, Dylevsky was chosen as one of the members of the presidium of the Coordination Council, which aims to coordinate a transition of political power from president Alexander Lukashenko who claims to have won the 9 August 2020 Belarusian presidential election.[4]

On 20 August, Alexander Konyuk, the Prosecutor-General of Belarus, initiated criminal proceedings against the members of the Coordination Council under Article 361 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, on the grounds of attempting to seize state power and harming national security.[5][6]

By 21 August, Dylevsky had become a "political star" according to the New York Times.[1] Dylevsky stated that he considered the Belarusian industrial system to be inefficient and that the lack of oligarchs in Belarus was "far from being an achievement", since it meant that "sound" business people did not wish to invest in Belarus.[1] Dylevsky stated that politics would be "the last thing [that he] would like to do" and then stated his intention to remove Lukashenko from power.[1] He considers Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to be the legitimate president of Belarus.[2] He argued that "Most of all, Lukashenko fears the factory workers' protest, so he tries to scare strike organisers and stop the strikes."[4]

On 21 August 2020, Dylevsky and fellow presidium member Maxim Znak entered the premises of the Investigative Committee of the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (KGB) for interrogation; they were later released.[7][1][4]

On 24 August 2020, Dylevsky was detained by the security services along with fellow presidium member Olga Kovalkova whilst they both attempted to support striking workers at the Minsk Tractor Works factory.[8][9][10] He was sentenced to 10 days' imprisonment the following day.[11][12][13]

As of 27 August 2020, Dylevsky's lawyer has been unable to meet with him and the location of his prison is unknown.[14][15]

References
  1. Nechepurenko, Ivan (21 August 2020). "Laying Down His Tools, Belarus Worker Takes Up Mantle of Protest Leader". New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  2. "Belarus leader: Ready to share power, but not under pressure". Al Jazeera English. 17 August 2020. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  3. Karmanau, Yuras (19 August 2020). "Belarus' Leader Warns of Tough New Steps Against Protesters". Time. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  4. "Belarusians 'will never accept current leadership': Tikhanovskaya". Al Jazeera English. 21 August 2020. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  5. "МАЯ КРАІНА БЕЛАРУСЬ". Telegram.
  6. "Belarus Opens Criminal Probe Against Oppositions Coordination Council- Prosecutor General". UrduPoint.
  7. "Belarus strikes must continue and grow, opposition leader says". BBC News. 21 August 2020. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  8. "Belarus holds opposition figures after mass rally". BBC News. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  9. hermesauto (24 August 2020). "Belarus detains two members of opposition council". The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  10. "Belarus Detains Two Members of Opposition Council". The New York Times. Reuters. 24 August 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  11. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2020/08/25/belarus-jails-second-opposition-member-for-10-days
  12. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election/belarus-opposition-figure-ordered-to-be-jailed-for-10-days-idUSKBN25L19Z
  13. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/belarus-kgb-to-question-nobel-laureate-svetlana-alexievich/news-story/5fb9e522441b18badec098a3df24fa99
  14. https://t.me/belsat/15424
  15. https://t.me/kyky_org/3110
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