Search in Minsk office of Radio Racyja: PCs confiscated

Policemen were looking into flats situated near Victory Square before a rehearsal of May 9 parade and found the office of the radio station. Radio Racyja is not accredited in Belarus.

Journalist Henadz Barbarych opened the door. When policemen noticed the radio station’s logos, they resorted to the help of the Central District Department of the Interior. There were about a dozen policemen in the flat and near it.

A search was conducted and two computers were confiscated, reports the website racyja.com. Henadz Barbarych said: “They arrived at about 7.30 p.m. I think it was an ordinary beat before May 9. A regular military rehearsal is in process here now. I opened the door. I did not tell them that we were journalists. They left. However, they returned several minutes later and said that they would like to inspect the flat. They said that the neighbours had complained about something. But it was not true, it is always quiet here”.

They started looking through newspapers and books in the office. They noticed the books about the Square-2010 published by “Viasna”. They phoned their administration in the Central Department of the Interior and they arrived later with their deputy head Anatol Shahlai. There were about 8 or 10 people. They confiscated the computers – a netbook and a PC. Then I told them that I was a journalist. They changed their attitude to me. They were rather aggressive at first. They drew up a confiscation report and I signed it. They said that they were going to confiscate the PCs to conduct a check-up.

It was a real search although it had not been allowed by a prosecutor. When I asked one of the policemen about it and he said that he was simply interested in what was going on there and that it was not a search. They looked through all the documents and notebooks but did not touch my personal belongings. Some policemen were wearing plain clothes, others were in the uniform. I do not exclude that there could be KGB members. They did not draw up any report against me. They just asked me what I was doing in that flat. They said that it was a coincidence, an ordinary beat”.

Photo by — bymedia.net