Arrests for newspapers distribution go on in Belarus

In Vitsebsk on February 18 an activist of the Conservative Christian Party Belarusian Popular Front Barys Khamajda was detained for more than 2 hours for handing out a magazine “Belaruskiya vedamasci”.

As informed by Barys Khamajda in an interview to “Nasha Niva”, he was detained in the centre of the city under a pretext of checking the books and periodicals he was selling. “Representatives of law-enforcing agencies refused to get acquainted with my books there and then and offered me to go to the police department of Chyhunachny district with them,” the oppositionist said.

As said by him, policemen’s attention had been attracted by 17 issues of “Belaruskiya vedamasci” (2008-2009) published by Zyanon Paznyak, the CCP-BPF chairman, in Warsaw. As this periodical is printed in Poland, policemen decided to seize it and send to the ideology department of Vitsebsk regional executive committee for examination to find out whether it is acceptable to distribute it, Khamajda said.

After the activist refused to sign the report of confiscation of the magazines and demanded the copy of the document, he was released, and all the copies of the magazine were returned.

The politician connects his arrest with local elections. “The regime fears words of truth,” Khamajda said.