Issue of Bulletin of Lew Sapeha Foundation Disrupted

On 11 May in Hrodna KGB workers confiscated equipment that belonged to members of Lews Sapeha Foundation. By this confiscation the issue of the 15th number of the analytical bulletin “Svoy Lad” was disrupted.

According to the information, given to “Belarusian Association of Journalists” by the head of Hrodna Department of the Fund Uladzimir Khilmanovich, the search took place not in the place of the juridical address, but in a private flat when its owners were absent. KGB workers confiscated a Xerox machine and hard discs from two computers at which the bulletin “Svoy Lad” was prepared (it has been issued since 2002 with the print-run of 299 copies). Besides, the KGB workers confiscated the book “St. Luka’s Land” by Ales Chobat.

The official reason was that KGB looked for the materials that could be related to the fly-sheet with “anti-presidential” verse that appeared in Hrodna on 29 April. However, U. Khilmanovich considers it a formal reason: to his mind, KGB wanted to interfere with the NGO’s work.