The court of the Central District of Minsk arrested the singer Meryem Gerasimenko for 15 days. The reason was that she performed a song in Ukrainian – "Hug" "Ocean Elzy" – near the local bar "Bottle Banks". At the same time, the owner of the bar, Andrei Zhuk, was arrested for 30 days.
Gerasimenko's street concert was held on 3 August. According to Zerkalo , this was not the first such performance of the singer, but it was at that time that propagandists and security officials paid attention to him. This is probably due to the fact that there were many viewers who posted videos of the performance on social networks. Sometimes – with stickers in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
The next day, videos from the concert began to appear on the propaganda Belarusian Telegram channels. It was also published by the host of STV Grigory Azarenok:
“Your mother, already evil is not enough. How long can this go on? How many years do you need? Was two years not enough? 7? ten? fifty? Is there really no one to see what is being done in universities, in bars, in theaters, in restaurants? And it's open on the street. Why did they throw everything at the security forces? GUBOP and the KGB have something to do, except to follow the singers. Is it possible somehow to create a dictatorship, about which the Zmagars are howling in the West, and not allow them to ride right in the center of Minsk?”
After that, Gerasimenko and Zhuk stopped communicating. At the same time, the sanitary station and the Ministry of Emergency Situations came to the "Bottle Banks" with a check. “A minibus pulled up to the bar. Guys in balaclavas came out of there and went to the institution. Twenty minutes later they left already with employees. They brought some DJ equipment with them. The guys were put in a car and everyone left. The institution was closed, and the guests had to disperse, ” said the source of the Mirror.
On August 6, information appeared in the Telegram channel “Lists of Detainees” that both Gerasimenko and Zhuk were arrested. Propaganda Telegram channels write that the reason for the detention of Gerasimenko was that she allegedly donated money for the Bayraktar drone for the Ukrainian army. Zhuk’s colleagues said that he was tried under two articles at once: Andrei was tried under two articles at once for disobeying the demands of an official (Article 24.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus) and “for sending something oppositional” (probably, we are talking about Art. materials).
