Relatives Of Pensioners, Detained At March: My Grandmother Is 67, My Great-Grandmother Is 89

Pensioners follow the news on the Internet, not on TV.

“Recently my grandmother called, she says, they were detained with my great-grandmother at the March of Pensioners, now my mother and I are going to look for them at the police station,” reader Darya tells tut.by. “My grandmother is 67 years old, and her mother is 89. We don't know their whereabouts.”

Darya's grandmother's name is Lyudmila Bystrenka. She is an engineer by education, retired only last year, before that she worked as a manager. The name of the great-grandmother is Valeryja Smirnova. For many years she was the chief accountant at a construction company.

This afternoon the women went to Independence Square. After some time, Lyudmila called her daughter Natallia and warned them: they were detained.

“She said they were standing near the buses, and now they will be taken inside,” Natallia retells that conversation. “Ten minutes later we phoned again. They were already inside. Mom said: a lot of people were taken. The worst thing that worries me, my mother said: there is little air inside.”

The relatives do not know where exactly Mrs. Lyudmila and Mrs. Valeryja were taken. The women were detained for the first time. The relatives are planning to start searches from the Central District Department of Internal Affairs.

- Why did your grandmother and mother decide to go to the March?

- How can they not to?

According to Natallia, her mother and grandmother follow the news on the Internet, not on TV.

- In the summer, my grandmother went to the store herself, bought a smartphone, - Natallia is speaking about her 89-year-old grandmother. - We registered her on Telegram, so she is aware of what is happening.

Among the detainees is Tatsiana Zialko, leader of the organization of pensioners “Our Generation”. This was reported by her son Aliaksandr.

“Mom asked someone for a phone, and was able to call me,” says Aliaksnadr. “She was brought to the Leninski District Department of Internal Affairs, now 40 people are with her. Now, she says, they are sitting in some room, and the police are about to check their belongings. In total, according to my mother's estimates, 80 people were brought to this police department.

Tatsiana Zelko is 67 years old. This is not her first detention. Therefore, her son shares his observations, you can hear from her voice: she is calm.

“But she has a problem with blood pressure, so I'm worried.”

- How do the others feel?

- Apparently, normal, - the interlocutor answers. - They were not informed about when the pensioners will be released, whether they will draw protocols. But they ask to drive up to the police station to pick them up, in case they are released.

According to human rights activists, 70-80 people were detained in Independence Square today.