The curious case of Belarus’s bears that weren’t there
A young Belarusian journalist has been arrested and detained – for taking photographs of teddy bears the government denies exist. Andrei Aliaksandru reports (more…)
Keep Belarus off the rink
Despite a deplorable human rights record, Belarus will host the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship. German MP Marina Schuster argues organisers should take the competition elsewhere
- President Alexander Lukashenko on the ice during a match on 8 September 2011.
Belarus: journalist detained for allegedly slandering president
Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut was detained last night for allegedly insulting the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko. Poczobut writes for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, and now faces up to five years in prison. According to his wife, police raided the couple’s apartment, and confiscated the journalist’s computer. Last year, Poczobut was handed a suspended sentence for articles he wrote against Lukashenko. Officers reportedly told his wife that they would “not leave him alone” if he continues to criticise the president.
Belarus: Journalist assaulted and detained by authorities
Belarusian authorities assaulted and interrogated Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter Ina Studzinskaja while she was covering a meeting of opposition activists and local residents outside the capital Minsk last week. Studzinskaja, a correspondent with RFE/RL’s Belarusian Service Radio Svaboda, was detained by police and security agents for three hours on May 31 while on assignment in Svetlahorsk. She told RFE/RL that a policeman grabbed and twisted her arm, and she was then taken to a local police station, where she was interrogated. No charges were brought against the reporter.