Social Democrat detained in Mahiliou

Ales Serdziukou, activist of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada), was detained yesterday while campaigning for so called People’s Referendum initiative.

“I was collecting signatures in support of the six points of People’s Referendum going from door to door. Apparently, someone from the residents did not like it, and they decided to punish me by calling the police. When I left a house in Mauchanski Street, police officers were already waiting for me downstairs,” says the activist.

“Twenty minutes later came the district police officer. He was interested why I collected signatures. He wanted to take them, but I said I would not give him anything. He did not insist. He wrote a violation report and said that I was going to be called to the police in the near future,” adds he.

On July 16, traffic police stopped a private car of BSDP’s deputy chairman Ihar Barysau, who transported the party’s newspaper “Social Democrat” and a local newsletter “Nash Mahiliou”. A total of 11,800 copies were seized by the police. The newspaper “Social Democrat” was dedicated to the People's Referendum.