About a hundred of riot militiamen were thrown to crackdown the action of solidarity with the repressed Belarusian Poles on February 16. 24 oppositionists, including journalists, have been arrested.

A peaceful action of solidarity with arrested leaders of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andrzej Poczbut, Igor Bancer, Mieczyslaw Jaskiewicz and Belarusian political prisoners Mikalai Autukhovich, Uladzimir Asipenka, and Artsyom Dubski was to be held on October square in Minsk at 6 p.m.

By that time, the square was already full of riot militiamen in mufti. Militia bus stood nearby. Riot militiamen in mufti demanded the journalists to show their IDs, but didn’t show their certificates and introduce themselves.

No sooner had participants of the action appeared on the square than a “mopping up” operation started. Opposition activists were arrested and pushed into the buses standing nearby. Militiamen beat people and dragged them to a metro militia station.

People were also arrested in Independence Avenue when as they were getting off buses and share taxis.

Riot militiamen again prevented journalists from filming the forceful crackdown. They were shutting cameras with hands, pushing and beating journalists, damaging their equipment. Riot militiamen in mufti acted like gangsters, didn’t show any IDs. To questions who they were they answered “just passers-by”. They didn’t pay any attention to journalist cards.

There was only one militiaman in uniform on the square. He was announcing through a megaphone about amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences taking force on February 23 forbidding drinking alcohol in public. The only militiaman in uniform didn’t react to attacks on people.

At 6:30 p.m. , some activists of European Belarus managed to unfurl a banners “For Our Freedom and Yours”. They were arrested, the banner was seized.

Among the detained participants of the action are: leaders of the civil campaigns European Belarus Yauhen Afnahel, Pavel Yukhnevich, Maksim Vinyarski, depth head of the Young Front Mikola Dzemidzenka, and others. It is also reported about detention of “Nasha Niva” photo correspondent Yulia Darashkevich. As charter97.org has learnt from Pavel Yukhnevich, 24 people were arrested. Later all of them were released.

Charter`97