Election-related detentions
The human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka was detained at Kamenny Loh border crossing point on his way from Lithuania with 10 copies of instructions for observes on him.
Sudalenka travelled by bus, so all passengers had to wait for over two hours while officers of the customs service in Ashmiany were drawing reports on seizure of printed materials.
It’s not the first case
when activists of the campaign Human
Rights Activists for Free Elections have been seized information materials
for observes on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. The same happened to Uladzimir Labkovich and Dzmitry Salauyou a week ago.
Proxies of the presidential candidate Uladzimir Niakliaeu were detained by the
police for two hours as well. Aliaksandr
Fiaduta and Aleh Miatselitsa
were returning from Moscow, where they had taken
part in a round table discussion organized by Sakharov Center
focused on the Belarusian issues.
At 7 in the morning, they were going to get off the train when uniformed and plainclothes police officers came to them. The police searched Fiaduta and Miatselitsa’s berths and guarded them to the police office at the railway station. According to the police, they were looking for money for Niakliayeu from Moscow.
Having found nothing, the police officers searched other passengers to make sure the money hadn’t been given to anybody else. The searches didn’t bring success. Fiaduta and Miatselitsa were allowed to go two hours later.
Speak Truth! campaign links this case to Lukashenka’s recent remark on financial support of Niakliayeu from Russia. Uladzimir Niakliayeu denied these accusations.
The riot police unlawfully detained and searched Andrei Bazhyn, an activist of Andrei Sannikov’s team.
On 29 November two riot policemen came to Andrei Bazhyn in the pedestrian subway of Praliatarskaya metro station. They said the Chase court-of-arms depicted on his scarf was a forbidden symbol and detain the guy for identification. They young man showed his passport and said the actions of the police were unlawful. Then he was forcefully guarded to the police station and searched. The riot policemen refused to introduce themselves, the website European Belarus reports.
Andrei Bazhyn was released after the police offices had found a certificate of member of Andrei Sannikau’s initiative in his belongings Reports on detention and personal search were not drawn up. The young man filed a complaint to the prosecutor’s office at the unlawful actions of the riot police.
