Prosecutors cover up militiamen, who beat a journalist

Natallya Radzina, a journalist of the website charter97.org, was denied instigating a criminal case against the militiamen, who hit her in the face during the search.

The ruling signed by assistant prosecutor of the Leninski district of Minsk Alyaksandr Svatko says that Natallya Radzina’s request for a criminal case was denied “for lack of a socially dangerous act provided for by the criminal law”.

The prosecutor’s ruling contains a lot of contradictions. It is obvious that no check-up in connection with the journalist’s complaint was carried out in due order. The document refers to the militiamen and says that the militiamen, who were searching the charter97.org office, behaved “in a polite manner”. All militiamen questioned said they hadn’t tried to enter the office by force. There’s an outstanding phrase in the resolution: “The above mentioned men tried to take Radzina aside from the door holding her by her body. In such a way they tried to prevent Radzina from closing the door.”

This is how the document describes an attack on the journalist by militiamen, who ran from upstairs, hit in the face, and began to push her from the door.

The procuracy officers were not interested in the fact why the “above mentioned men” didn’t introduce themselves, didn’t show their Ids and a search warrant, but “tried to prevent Radzina from closing the door.”

The ruling says the names of the people assuring the journalist wasn’t beaten and “her eye was normal during the search”: they are interrogating officer of the Leninski distinct Alyaksandr Chui, chief authorized investigator of the Leninski district militia department D. Kanyukhevich, investigator of the Leninski district militia department A. Kryvalevich, witness O. Yasinskaya and Y. Malakhouskaya, taken to the search by the militia.

Understandably, it is ridiculous one cannot expect policemen to change their story to an opposite one, but despite of testimony of journalists who were present during the search, and the fact that after the blow Radzina's eye was swollen (a hematoma appeared on the next day) the prosecutor's office was satisfied by that. Moreover, militiamen’s testimony have given the prosecutor's office grounds to deny instituting criminal proceedings against those miliitamen.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office could not conceal the conclusion of medical examination to which the journalist applied. The prosecutor's office admits that "according to the expert examination number 1036 of March 17, 2010, the following injuries of Radzina have been found: a contusion of the right eye of the first degree, a bruise of the upper eyelid of the right eye".

In the resolution to the appeal of Natallya Radzina nothing was said about the fact that the search in the flat rented by her was held with violations of the law, though the journalist stated that in her appeal. In particular, militiamen seized 8 system units in charter97.org news office, without writing down their serial number in the search report.

Besides, the prosecutor's office has ignored the fact that unknown persons in mufti were present in the premises during the search. They were in riot militia masks hiding their faces. To the request of Radzina to tell their names they raised arms in Nazi salute.

“Prosecutors worry so much about honour of KGB officer Ivan Korzh that they are ready to cover up the militiamen who beat journalists. Of course, I didn’t expect Lukashenka’s prosecutor to make a fair decision. Procuracy today is not a supervisory body, controlling legality of militia’s actions, but an unclear organization. We give our money for the staff to sit in cozy offices and do nothing.

Assistant prosecutor Svatko had made a good impression on me at first. But after the interrogation I told him: "It's a pity you would not be allowed to punish anyone". And it has happened this way. I really feel pity for these people, it is clear that they are simply executing orders.

It is symptomatic that workers of the prosecutor's office admit that I had been beaten up, but they didn't have courage to admit that it had been done by their colleagues from law-enforcing agencies. When it comes to beating of oppositionists, human rights activists or journalists, workers of the prosecutor's office forget about their duty and the law," Natallya Radzina said.

We remind that on March 16 a search was held in the news office of charter97.org website as a part of investigation of the criminal case relating "defamation" of the former head of the KGB directorate of Homel region Ivan Korzh. 8 system units were seized. At first militiamen tried to burst into the flat by force. They punched journalist Natalya Radzina in the face.