TRAVELED TO MINSK? EXPLAIN THAT IN WRITTEN FORM! Police Demands Written Statement from Local Activist about His Visit to Minsk

The police insists that Alexander Tsishuk, an activist from Biarozauka (Lida district), writes written statement about his stay in Minsk. On March 25 Alexander was severely beaten during a peaceful rally. He got into Minsk city hospital #4. The hospital experts registered bruises and other indications that he had been beaten. In the night he managed to leave the hospital with the help of his friends. Now the state of his health is relatively normal.

On March 31 the local police suggested that Alexander Tsishuk should go to police station and write a statement about his trip to Minsk. Tsishuk refused. Alexander Tsishuk is concerned about strange cars which seem to be always on duty near his house. Sometimes it is a cab (although there are simply no cabs in town). During the conversation a police officer asked if the rally organizers had given drugs to protesters. Tsishuk is indignant: on March 25 when the peaceful protesters were attacked by police, he was near the place were a noise grenade exploded. Then he was beaten and lost consciousness. “Those were people in black, without helmets. The “astronauts” in helmets were moving first, and the people in black uniform were among them. They attacked me, one of them hit me into the head with his boot – and I passed out. I still remember my nose was bleeding. A Czech reporter and some other protesters dragged me to the side and laid me on the edge of the road”, -- remembers Alexander.

In the hospital he was lying next to the Czech reporter who had helped him, a woman from Minsk and a man of about 60, with his head going bald: “I ask him: “Where are you from? From Brest region or where?”. He seemed to be scared because the doctors told him he was allegedly drunk. I told the doctors: He is not drunk, he has been beaten. Don’t you see his head and nose are bleeding?!”

Alexander Tsishuk remembers: because of the deafening he could not hear clearly where the injured man was from. But he remembers the man had an injured head which was bleeding, bruises on his face and side, and an injured hand. Alexander tried to invigorate the man: let’s stay around each other. However, the injured man was taken to do an X-ray and never came back.

Alexander had an injured leg, head and a displaced ear-drum. He also had an X-ray of his leg and head made. The doctors also put stitches on his head. He was afraid to stay at hospital overnight. He left the hospital and spent the night at a friend’s house. In the morning he took a bus home. On the station he saw policemen who had pictures in the hands and were looking carefully at passers-by. Tsishuk had a catchy jacket, he took it off and got on a bus home.