Law-Enforcers Come To Journalists In Brest, Minsk, Hlybokaye, Other Cities

(updated) Searches are underway.

On July 9, the security forces came with searches to the Brest journalist Maksim Khliabets, the administrator of the Virtual Brest portal Andrei Kukharchyk, the Minsk correspondent of Onliner Anastasia Zanko, and the journalist from Hlybokaye Tatsiana Smotkina.

The reason for the visit is still being clarified. Neither Maksim Khliabets, nor Anastasia Zanko, nor Andrey Kukharchyk answer calls and messages, zerkalo.io reports.

Law-enforcers also came to the editorial office of the Luninets edition Informprogulka.

A day earlier, the KGB conducted searches in the editorial offices and employees of independent media outlets in the Brest region. Security officials visited Media-Palessie, Intex-press, Brestskaya Gazeta.

Tatsiana Smotkina managed to report that the police had arrived at her house:

"The car is still parked near the house, the policemen are reading some papers inside it. That's it, I'm signing out of the social media," the journalist said.

The security officials also came to the editorial office of the newspaper Hantsavitski Chas, and to the editor of the website First Region.

According to the employees of the First Region, the KGB came to the editorial office of the newspaper.

Also, unknown people came to the editor of the First Region Pavel Dailid, another editor of the publication Aleh Suprunyuk is unavailable.

Editor-in-Chief of Intex-press Uladzimir Yanukevich was told that there could be "objects and instruments of crime", as well as documents and other materials valuable for the investigation, in the editorial office.

As a result, nobody from the editorial offices of the regional media was put under arrest, but all equipment was seized.

On the same day, the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to the employees of Nasha Niva. According to the Investigatory Committee, the NN editor-in-chief Yahor Martsinovich, along with three other persons involved, is being held in the case of "mass riots". At the moment, it is known that Yahor Martsinovich, Andrei Skurko, Andrei Dynko and the editor-in-chief of the publication Volha Rakovich were detained for three days. They are held in the temporary detention center in Akrestsin Street. The website nn.by is blocked by the Ministry of Information.