Police tried to penetrate into Belsat TV news office in Belarus

In order to get into the news office, policemen even cut off electricity.

As charter97.org website was told by Yanina Melnikava, a journalist, first some person called via the house intercom to the flat of Mikhail Yanchuk in Darashevich Street, a representative of “Belsat” office. He said: “Do not open the door, police is coming to you.” Then, as said by her, the unknown people started to knock on the door. They didn’t say who they were, and there were no demands from them. After the denial of the journalists to open the door, the electricity was cut off in the office.

At about 4.30 p.m. when policemen were on the street and journalists from different mass media arrived, journalists managed to leave the office.

Policemen presented themselves as officers of the police department of Savetski district, but there were people in mufti with them, supposedly representatives of secret services. Policemen said that they allegedly received a complaint from neighbours that suspicious unknown people are in the flat and it is very noisy there. Policemen wanted to take the owner of the flat, Mikhail Yanchuk, to the police department to demand explanations from him.

At 5 p.m. a deputy senior officer of the police department of Savetski district arrived to the flat of the Belsat representative. Another version of policemen’s visit to the office was announced by him. Policemen said that Ivan Shulham who left this flat, saw policemen near the entrance and allegedly hit one of them and tore off a chevron from his uniform.

Finally, Mikhail Yanchuk was to give explanations to policemen on the floor landing. They were not allowed to enter the flat. Yanchuk was asked what was situated there, and why so many journalists were there.

Nothing is known about the detained journalist. All the police departments of Minsk say they do not have a person wit such a name.

“No doubt it is a continuation of the mass repressions campaign against representatives of independent media, which is carried out by the Belarusian authorities for many years, in order to intimidate all journalists who do not agree with their policy,” Mikhail Yanchuk said in an interview to charter97.org.

We remind that Belarusian authorities denied registration to Belsat TV channel thrice, despite of the fact that in October 2008 the European parliament called upon the European Commission to contribute to making the government of Belarus “to facilitate the process of official registration of Belsat in Belarus”.

The agreement on creation of the satellite TV channel “TV Belarus” was signed on April 23, 2007 between the Polish public television (TVP) and the Foreign Ministry of Poland. On July 18 TVP approved a new satellite TV channel as a part of its structure. It was called Belsat. On December 10, 2007 test broadcasting of Belsat started with a news program. The TV channel is financed y a reserve budget of the Polish Foreign Ministry. Programs of Belsat are mostly in Belarusian. The main aim of the TV channel is to offer citizens of Belarus objective and true information about events in the country, Europe and the world.

In March 2008 massive searched in the news offices of foreign mass media, including Belsat TV channel. Office equipment was seized from journalists.