Alyaksandr Kazulin

Alyaksandr Kazulin (or Alexander Kozulin) (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 March 19, 2006.

He was a rector of the Belarusian State University from 1996 to 2003 and a government minister serving under Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko but later fell out of favor. He holds a PhD in mathematics and pedagogy. He is married and has two daughters.

Several weeks before the election, on March 2, 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 March 19 presidential election, on March 25, 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, despite Lukashenko's win, 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 July 13, 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, the official charge being of hooliganism and incitement to mass disorder during the events of March 25.^[7] Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience. On February 26, 2008 Kazulin was temporarily released from his jail in Vitsyebsk to attend his wife's funeral, after threatening to starve himself if he was not released.^[8] On August 16, 2008, he was released from prison.^[9]

References

1. "Belarus rally marred by arrests". BBC News. 2006-03-02. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
2. "The remarkable consistency of Lukashenko". Politics In Depth. Angus Reid Global Monitor. 2006-03-09. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
3. "Kazulin & Belarus’ "elections"". br23 blog. 2006-03-03. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
4. "Belarus: Tightening the screws on dissent". Media Briefing. Amnesty International. 2006-03-14. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
5. Zarakhovich, Yuri (2006-03-25). "Belarus: 'They Knocked My Husband Down and Dragged Him Away'". Time. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
6. Beehner, Lionel (2006-03-22). "Belarus Opposition Candidate Kozulin: 'We’re Fed Up' With Dictatorship". Interview. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
7. "Belarus opposition leader jailed". BBC News. 2006-07-14. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
8. Schwirtz, Michael (2008-02-27). "Belarus Opposition Leader Freed for Wife’s Funeral". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
9. "Belarus dissident leaves prison". BBC News. 2008-08-16. Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-20.

External links

• Official home page (Belarusian)