The administration of Minsk's Partyzanski district on Thursday granted a grandmother legal custody of the three-year-old son of former presidential candidate Andrey Sannikov and his journalist wife Iryna Khalip, the BelaPAN reported.
Daniil Sannikov has been cared for by Ms. Khalip's parents after she and Mr. Sannikaw were arrested following the brutal dispersal of the opposition's post-election street protest in Minsk on December 19.
Ms. Khalip's mother, Lyutsyna Byalzatskaya-Khalip, was notified by the district administration that she had been formally named the boy's guardian.
"All this even came as a sort of surprise," the 74-year-old woman told BelaPAN. "I had been told earlier that a decision on custody would be made before the end of the month and then they suddenly called and asked me to collect the documents."
The woman said that social workers would be checking the child's welfare. "But at least I'm glad that he has not been removed from us," she noted.
Daniil was put on the authorities' list of children in need of care following the arrest of his parents.
Social workers visited the boy’s kindergarten on December 24, sparking fears that he could be placed in institutional care. Ms. Byalzatskaya-Khalip rushed there after receiving a phone call from the institution and drew up an application for custody of the boy on the spot.
The woman said on Thursday that the boy would not resume attending his kindergarten any time soon.
Mr. Sannikov and Ms. Khalip, who have been held in the KGB jail in Minsk, have been charged with organizing and participating in mass riots over the protest. If convicted, they could face up to 15 years in prison.
As previously reported, on December, 20, EU MEPs noted with concern the attempts of the Belarusian authorities to take into state custody Danil Sannikov, 3-year-old son of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov and investigative journalist Irina Khalip, after both parents were imprisoned on Election Day. Danil is currently living with his grandmother.
See also: EU MEPs spell out sanctions EU should take against Belarus authorities
