Belarusian freight carriers called to police for “conversation”

Directors of Belarusian freight companies are called to police stations for conversations.

Mikalai, the director of a freight company, told Yezhednevnik that he and the company founder were called to a police station at 18:00 on February 3. He says that many of his friends involved in transport business also had to talk to the police.

Mikalai thinks the police learnt their phone numbers from Siarhei Shtoda's contact list. Shtoda is an initiator of a rally of freight carriers that was to be held near the House of Government on the morning of February 4. Siarhei was detained on February 3 and sentenced to 15 days in custody allegedly for swearing in public.

“Police officers asked if I was going to participate in protests and what I though about such events. It looked like a preventive conversation. It made me think, you know,” Mikalai says. He notes it's not a surprise that no one came to protest on February 4.

Mikalai adds that he didn't plan to take part in the rally. “Actually, it is wrong to call the failed event a rally or a protest picket. It was planned that freight carriers would come to the House of Government and talk to officials about their problems, discuss their possible solutions and go home. No aggressive actions were planned,” he said.