More harassment of journalists, now outside the capital

Raids on news media are continuing in Belarus, now in the provinces, as the authorities try to regain control of coverage of unrest. Despite international appeals for the release of those arrested in the immediate aftermath of the 19 December presidential election, few have been freed and instead the harassment of civil society groups is continuing. Journalists are leading targets, especially when those suspected of possessing material about the protests on the evening of 19 December. At least two journalists – Irina Khalip, a reporter for the Moscow-based Novaya Gazeta, and Natalia Radzina, the editor of Charter 97, an opposition news website – are being prosecuted. They are facing sentences of between 3 and 15 years in prison. Reporters Without Borders reiterates its call for a common European position on the situation in Belarus and, if necessary, a return to sanctions targeting the country’s leaders. The European and Russian governments must demand the immediate release of all those still detained for their presumed participation in the demonstrations. Yesterday the police searched the independent weekly Borisovskyie Novosti in Barysaw, a town in the Minsk region, seizing all of its equipment: 13 computers, three fax machines, three cameras, computer monitors and keyboards. The police also raided editor Anatol Bukas’ home, confiscating his camera. As in most of the previous raids, the police showed a warrant that said they were participating in an investigation being conducted by the Committee for State Security (KGB) into the 19 December “riots” in the capital. Two days before the Barysaw raid, KGB officials arrested Andrey Pachobut, a correspondent for the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, outside his home in the western city of Hrodna, took him to the local political police headquarters and interrogated him about his alleged participation in the events of 19 December, which he covered for his newspaper. Pachobut said he regarded his brief arrest as an attempt to intimidate him. “I think this incident was entirely attributable to the fact that I am a journalist,” he told Reporters Without Borders. “Gazeta Wyborcza has published all my articles about Belarus since 19 December, often on the front page.” Gazeta Wyborcza has a significant impact on public opinion in Poland and elsewhere in Europe and the Belarusian authorities did not like its coverage of the way the 19 December protests were dispersed. Pachobut refused to answer questions from the KGB officers for three hours. One of them lost his patience and hit Pachobut three times on the head and once on the chest. Finally, Pachobut was given an official warning about his supposed participation in the protests. He filed a complaint the same day with a military prosecutor’s office and intends to bring a prosecution against his aggressor. The authorities have announced that 25 people are being formally investigated in connection with the protests. Five of them are presidential candidates: Ales Mikhalevich, Uladzimir Nikliaieu, Vital Rymashewski, Andrey Sannikaw et Mikalay Statkevich. As well as Khalip and Radzina, those facing prosecution include members of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), a Reporters Without Borders partner organization. They are Pavel Sevyarynets, one of the leaders of the Christian Democratic Party; Syarhey Vaznyak, the editor of the weekly Tovarych; Alyaksandr Faduta, who like Vaznyak is a Niakliaieu supporter; and Zmitser Bandarenka, a member of Sannikaw’s campaign team.