Vialeika internet resource accused of defamation and insults

The popular regional website vialejka.org hasn’t been working for a week as two criminal cases have been instigated against it.

While the law-enforcement agencies are looking for the site’s administrators, the authors offer the readers to follow the regional news on twitter. One of the first twits on the site’s account is ‘How the Belarusian Internet works! Half of local websites cannot be reached. They had to be hosted in Belarus, and then were disabled.’

As RFE/RL reports, Mikalai Suslo was called in as a witness in the Vileika’s case. His personal computer was seized for expert examination on suspicion that he administrates the website. A criminal case over libel against the headmistress of secondary school #1 of Vileika was opened. The police alleged that one of the comments to the picture on the website insults the teacher. The other criminal case was initiated over comments containing libel against another teacher, the head of the music school of Vileika.

The police told Mr. Suslo they had received two requests asking to initiate criminal cases, but didn’t call the names of their authors.

’What concerns the computer that said they would phone me in a month or two if they knew anything. They didn’t say if I would be called in again. The situation is unclear, I am considered as a witness, but in connection with seizure of the computer I had an impression I am not just a witness,’ Mikalai Suslo said.