Belsat TV office raided by police

Police officers have searched the Minsk-based office of the TV channel Belsat, Belarusian Association of Journalists said.

The raid is said to have been authorized by the Investigative Committee as part of a criminal case against the Poland-funded media outlet (Article 188 of the Criminal Code, slander).

According to Belsat reporter Ales Zaleuski, the case is linked to a publication posted on the channel’s website in the summer of 2018, which alleged the involvement of former Deputy Prosecutor General Andrei Shved in a corruption scandal. In particular, the site said that Andrei Shved was arrested together with his brother Aleh. Zaleuski says it was a technical mistake, as the bribery case involved Shved’s brother, not Andrei Shved himself.

Belsat office after the search. April 9, 2019. Photo: baj.by

Ales Zaleuski has been interrogated as a witness in the case.

The investigators also reportedly prohibited disclosure of any information related to the investigation.

During the search, police officers took two system units, three laptops, as well as all data storage devices.