In Minsk journalists detained for interview in Belarusian

Journalists Alyaksandr Lyubyanchuk and Maryja Artsybashava had an interview with Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, a politician, and were detained by police.

As charter97.org was told by the press-service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, policemen who were just passing by, were interested by the interviewee’s speaking Belarusian.

- At 2 p.m. in Melezh Street in Minsk we were recording a conversation with a politician Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu concerning different social and political issues. At a certain moment a policeman was passing by. He decided to display vigilance and started to check documents of those present,” Alyaksandr Lyubyanchuk said.

After that the journalists and the politician were taken to the police department of Savetski district. As said by Lyubyanchuk, there the identities of the journalists were checked through the computer database, and there was also an attempt to view the footage.

In about an hour after the detention, the journalists and the politician were released without any documents being drawn up. Nothing was confiscated.