Square: riot police tell their story

Several dozen policemen were interrogated in court after the dispersal of the Dec.19 action in the Square in 2010. They presented their own version of the events. Euroradio has selected some of the most typical statements.

Yauhen Karouka.

“I was in plain clothes on December 19. I was waiting for the action to start near McDonalds. I headed for Independence Square when the manifestation reached me. I was wearing plain clothes because my task was to register law violations. I was recoding a video in Independence Square. I had a camera and people became hostile at some moment... Somebody hit me on the head with something. I lost consciousness."

Leanid Hushcha.

“I saw an ice axe in the Square. It happened after the crowd had been dispersed. I did not see any objects in manifestants' hands... The crowd was aggressive. I heard threats being pronounced to policemen. They were talking about physical violence. Those  who reached Independence Square were trying to get to the Church of Saints Simon and Helen. I do not know why."

Ksyandzou.

“I was beaten in Independence Square. A group of 30 young people tried to break through us. They made three attempts. They managed to grab my helm and hit me in the face... It was the first time I had seen so many people. It is probably the reason for my headaches. I went to the doctor after the demonstration."

Vasil Lisouski.

“I did not see any weapons - only buckets filled with water. I cannot say anything about the mass disorders either, I have not seen anything... The interior troops were used to drive people away from Independence Square. The riot police divided the crowd into a few parts.

The demonstrators threw some object at us. It hit me on the knee."

Syarhei Parai.

 “I saw wooden sticks and fishing rods. I did not hear any appeals to leave. I stayed in Independence Square from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m.  When I approached the House of the Government after the dispersal, about 10 people were breaking the windows. They were surrounded by photo reporters who were trying to take pictures of the broken glass."

Syarhei Hushchyk.

“The riot police tried to protect the door of the House of the Government and ran towards the threshold quickly. But it was too slippery. Many of them slipped and I slid into the crowd on my own shield... They hit me with an ice axe and I fell down."

Photo by - bymedia.net