Pinsk: KGB continues harassment of Ales Ramanovich
As said by Ales Ramanovich, a Pinsk activist of the Belarusian Popular Front Party, officers of the police and KGB have been trying to guard him to the Pinsk Town Police Department y any means during the last three days, referring to an administrative case instigated against him. However, they refused to present him an official writ, that's why he refused to come to the police department.
The writ was passed to the activist only on 9 June. He is invited to come to the local police inspector at 3 p.m. on 9 June, in the capacity of a suspect on an administrative case. The harassment of the activist by the police and KGB started in April, after a search in the apartment of one of his acquaintances, during which periodicals and computer hard drives were confiscated.
'The owner of the apartment was several times summoned to the police after the search. The police inspector told him to ask me to come to the police as well. However, I answered that I wouldn't come there without a writ,' recollects Mr. Ramanovich.
At about 10 p.m. on 7 June, he was approached by a silverly car. A KGB officer came out. It was not the first time Ramanovich saw him: he was present at the April search and was several times 'occasionally' met by him in the streets. The KGB officer said he came to see how the activist was living and hinted that he knew many things about the life of his family.
Then he proposed that Mr. Ramanovich got into the car. 'I asked whether he had a warrant writ for me, but he answered that he didn't have any. I said that in this case I wouldn't go anywhere. Then he said that he could detain me, as he had such a right. I answered that he didn’t have such rights, and I, on my part, had a right for a counsel. I told him to send me a writ, so that I could come with my counsel. He insisted on my going with him. My mother was returning from our summer residence at the time. I shouted to her that I was being taken away, after which she stated crying as well. Then my neighbor came out. Seeing the two of them, the KGB officer went away. Before this, he phoned by his mobile somewhere, probably to the police. He said that I was at home and they could come. He told them my address.'
When the police arrived, Ales Ramanovich was already at home, with the door locked. The policemen walked around his house for about 15 minutes, stood for a while near the closed gate, and then went away. In the evening, he received another call from the KGB officer, and informed that two writs had been allegedly sent to Ramanovich, but he ignored them. The activist insists that he hasn’t received any, though.
The following day, on 8 June, the KGB officer in the silverly car again kept his duty near the Ramanovichs' house, and on 9 June he passed him a writ at the town market in presence of two policemen.
'If they want to draw me to account within the guidelines of an administrative case, what relation does KGB have to it?' asks the activist. 'From the words of the KGB officer it follows that I ignored their writs and therefore they had to come to me. This is a complete nonsense, as KGB doesn't deal with administrative cases.' At the same time, Mr. Ramanovich said he was going to come to the local police inspector on the writ he has received.
