New Detentions of Journalists

According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists

On 17 March in Belarus the police detained three journalists. In Krychau they detained the chief editor of the non-state newspaper Volny horad Siarhei Niarouny, in Vaukavysk - the chief editor of Mestnaya gazeta Andrei Shantarovich and in Minsk - the non-staff correspondent of Salidarnasts, activist of independent trade union Ivan Roman. Ivan Roman was taken to Minsk Savetski Borough Board of Internal Affairs.

In the morning of 18 March Siarhei Niarouny was summonsed to procurator’s office, allegedly for a talk concerning his application (he asked to return to him his PC which the police had confiscated on 15 March together with other equipment that had been in the flat of the publisher of Volny horad Uladzimir Kudrautsau). When he got out of his house, the police seized him and took to a police station. Mr Niarouny managed to inform the Belarusian Association of Journalists about the detention using his phone in the police car.

In Vaukavusk the police detained the chief editor of Mestnaya gazeta Andrei Shantarovich in the following way: in Chyrvonaarmeiskaia St. a police car stopped near him and the police pulled him in. He also managed to phone and tell his friends he was driven to a police station.