Поўная версія на беларускай і рускай мове: http://fly-uni.org/novosti/zvarot-akademichnaj-supolnasci-z-nagody-suda/ 

To the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus
To the Minsk District Court

We, scientists, researchers, representatives of the academic community and cultural figures, are following with attention and concern the fate of the philosopher, the methodologist and the public figure — Uladzimir Matskevich, who has been arrested for more than eight months and is being held in the Detention Facility No. 1 in Minsk. In February 2022, in protest against the  investigation process, Uladzimir Matskevich went on a hunger strike, which lasted 13 days and caused a wide reaction from the international community.

On April 14, 2022, the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Belarus published a message stating that the criminal case against Uladzimir Matskevich was sent to the Minsk City Court.

According to the official information Uladzimir Matskevich is accused of “taking an active part in group actions in Minsk on October 25, 2020, grossly violating public order and associated with a clear disobedience to the legitimate demands of government officials, which led to disruption of transport and enterprises (Part 1, Article 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus)”.

We consider it necessary to pay attention to the fact people gathered for the “Sunday March” on October 25, 2020 in Minsk, a peaceful meeting of citizens took place in Minsk and other cities of Belarus after the 2020 presidential elections every week, from August 16 to December 20. According to various estimates, from 100 to 300 thousand people took part in the peaceful meetings in Minsk on October 25, 2020, which indicates the high social significance of this peaceful meeting.

According to the message of the General Prosecutor’s Office that Uladzimir Matskevich “from August 2020 to August 4, 2021 created and led an extremist formation by uniting a group of citizens (Part 1, Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).
In particular, together with other persons:
-- produced and posted materials on Telegram channels, Facebook page and the “Skhod” platform that contained deliberately false information about the political, economic, social, military, international situation of the Republic of Belarus, as well as a negative assessment of government officials in connection with the performance of official duties; responsibilities;
-- organized activities for planning, preparing and committing actions of an extremist nature by members of the formation and other persons;
-- moderated these resources, controlled their content with extremist materials.”

We consider it necessary to pay attention to the following significant and fundamental circumstances. According to public information, the Platform of People's Representatives “Skhod”, which is referred to in the information message of the General Prosecutor's Office, is “an independent civil initiative, which is not supported by any political forces or parties. The digital platform was created to express the interests and opinions of the people of Belarus, but does not replace state authorities and administrations, republican and local assemblies. The project is non-commercial and implemented on a volunteer basis by a team consisting of programmers, representatives of business and the creative industry. The “Skhod” is a digital platform that was created specifically for dialogue within society and dialogue between society representatives and various existing authorities.”

From the published resolution of the delegates of the first convocation of the “Skhod” platform, it is known that throughout the year (February 2021— February 2022) the platform was engaged in coordinating and sending open letters and petitions, organizing public hearings, educational lectures, and preparing legislative initiatives.
Until now, the public does not know (there is no public information) exactly what actions of the “Skhod” platform violated the requirements of the law and became the basis for the KGB to recognize it as an “extremist formation” in December 2021.

It is known from public sources that Uladzimir Matskevich was not among the creators of the “Skhod” electronic platform, nor in the elected governing bodies, nor even in the “Skhod” secretariat, which performed technical functions.

According to the official information of the Prosecutor General’s Office Uladzimir Matskevich is also accused of “creating and posting on the YouTube channel a video with an insult to the Head of State (Part 1, Article 368 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus) on May 7, 2021.”

Based on public information and after analyzing the content of the video materials with the participation of Uladzimir Matskevich, we can assume this is an interview posted on the YouTube channel “BalaganOFF Ukraine Belarus”. This is the channel of the Ukrainian blogger Oleksandr Rykov. Uladzimir Matskevich was invited for an interview as an interlocutor; during the interview, Uladzimir Matskevich answers questions and expresses his opinion on important socio-political problems and events.

The only part of the interview mentioning of Alexander Lukashenko is as follows:
“There has never been a serious political or socio-political force of a pro-Russian orientation in Belarus. Why does Moscow, with all their hatred towards Lukashenko, support Lukashenko? Because there is not a single pro-Russian figure in Belarus that they could bet on and trust. Therefore, they are forced to keep Lukashenko, “he is a son of a bitch, but he is their son of a bitch.” All the rest, one way or another, even if they make some rhetorical statements, positive ones, about Russia, these statements are not addressed to the Belarusian population, the Belarusian society, but of Russia itself.”

What exactly in the above interview can be regarded as an insult? A quote that is known to humanitarians all over the world, like the statement of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, uttered in 1939 to Anastasio Somoza, which is included in textbooks and monographs? How does this compare to freedom of expression?

Uladzimir Matskevich is a philosopher, a methodologist, a thinker, a public figure. His texts are the property of national and European culture and the humanities. As a philosopher and a methodologist, he is known in many countries, his current developments stimulate discussions and the development of philosophical and scientific thought.
As a citizen, Uladzimir Matskevich is one of the most consistent defenders of the independence and sovereignty of Belarus, known for his commitment to democratic values ​​and a public dialogue - a way of social and political interaction, resolving socio-political contradictions and conflicts of any level.

At present, the case of Uladzimir Matskevich has been submitted to the court. The court will consider the charges, hear the arguments of the parties, understand the facts of the case and make a decision. What is now known about the nature of the charges is in serious conflict with the public information that is available to us — the academic community and society as a whole.
We want to be sure the decision of the court will be delivered objectively, impartially, in accordance with the In dubio pro reo principle. Considering all of the above, the high social significance of the upcoming trial, being supporters of the principles and international regulations regarding the freedom of opinion, the freedom of assembly, a fair trial, we are convinced the case of Uladzimir Matskevich should be considered in open court, the public concerned should have access to the court hearings and must be secured and guaranteed.