Members of Andrei Sannikov’s initiative group summoned by police

Activists do not doubt that summoning for questioning is related exclusively with the upcoming presidential election in Belarus.

Members of the initiative group for nomination of Andrei Sanniov as a presidential candidate are summoned for questioning by police. Нead of Minsk city headquarters of Andrei Sannikov's campaign Yauhen Afnagel and his wife Palina Kuryanovich have been told in a summons for interrogation that they are to come to the police department of Pershamajski district of Minsk as witnesses in a criminal case initiated under article 205 Part 1 (“theft”), “European Belarus” website reports.

The matter concerns a disappearance of a walkie-talkie of one of riot policemen during detention of opposition activists at a rally “We Demand International Investigation!” on August 16, 2010. Policemen state that it could be seen on a video that Palina Kuryanovich picked up the walkie-talkie of a riot policeman which fell out during arrests and beating of peaceful citizens.

“When arrests and beating of my friends started during the rally on August 16, one of the policemen dropped a walkie-talkie. I picked it up, and when everything became calm, I gave it back to the policeman I came across, for him to give it to the owner. I made that to avoid any incidents and possible accusations against participants of the rally,” Palina Kuryanovich said.

Yauhen Afnagel has no doubts that the summons is related only to the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus.

“Today morning I called investigator Dzmitry Ramzevich, and told that I find these like actions aimed at thwarting collection of signatures, and offered to postpone the meeting to the next Monday. He said that his commanding officers exert pressure on him, and he said he would be “torn to shreds”, if we would not be interrogated before Wednesday. And finally we agreed to meet on Wednesday, 4 p.m.,” Afnagel said.