Illya Bahdanau: They took me to Minsk in handcuffs

Journalists interview with the Polatsk opposition member accused of "state treason".

Illya Bahdanau is a BCD activist from Polatsk. He was detained by KGB in his flat on November 9. He was released on recognizance after an interrogation in Minsk. Suspected of parricide (article 356 of the Criminal Code of Belarus), informed Euroradio.

- Tell us about your recent adventures, please.

- It happened last week, on Friday. I was waiting for a friend of mine. He was going to spend that night in my flat. When I heard the doorbell ringing, I thought it was him. I opened the door without asking who it was. There were a lot of people in black. They showed me the their IDs. KGB. They searched the flat. The search took about an hour. All materials connected with the BCD and flash drives were confiscated.

- What happened after the search?

- They told me to put on warm clothes. I asked - where are we going? "You are going with us," they said. They put handcuffs on me and drove me to Navapolatsk. They drew up a report there and drove me to Minsk. They were in a  hurry.

- Didn't they explain anything?

- They didn't. They only asked if the handcuffs were too tight. They thought that I would send complaints to the Office of the Public Prosecutor about it.

- What happened in the capital?

- It was more serious in Minsk-  a huge gate and serious control. They led me upstairs. I noticed Andrei Haidukou on the second or first floor. I was not allowed to look around but I think that it was Haidukou. They led me to the investigator and the interrogation began.

- When did they let you off?

- After the interrogation. I can orient myself in Minsk a little bit. I took a taxi to the ring road. It was good that I had taken some money from home. I hitchhiked back to Navapolatsk. I wasn't even late for work (Illya works in a department of housing and communal services). The boss asked: "What's wrong with you, you do not look well." I described the events to him. When I started drinking my coffee, two men in plain clothes started conducting a search.

- How do you think, why haven't they released Haidukou on recognizance?

- I do not think that we can discuss it. I am not allowed to. If I started expressing my opinion about it, I would have to mention some details.