18:27 European Parliament president urges Belarusian government to release people arrested during police crackdown on demonstration in Minsk

The president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, has urged the Belarusian government to immediately release the people arrested during a police crackdown on a demonstration staged in Minsk on March 25 on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Belarusian National Republic.

15:41 KGB: “We need to search apartments of other radical political groups”

As the press service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists reports, searched were conducted by the order of deputy prosecutor of Minsk A. Stuk and deputy head of the KGB B. Vyahera. The instruction includes names of people who work for TV channel Belsat. It written by hand that “other activists of radical political groups” should be carried out.

14:16 Mopping-up operation sanctioned by prosecutor's office

Reasons for holding searches at apartments and offices of independent journalists have been reported. They are held under search warrant signed by a deputy prosecutor of Minsk Alyaksei Stuk.

13:52 Searches of journalists’ apartments – response to OSCE?

State mustn’t control the Internet. Roland Bless, Director of the OSCE Representative Office on Freedom of the Media, said it on 26 March at the meeting in the “house of representatives” of the “national assembly” on draft law On Information, Informatisation and Information Protection. The next day searches in journalists’ apartments were carried out in the country.

13:43 KGB looking for cartoons

Journalist Barys Harestki, working for Radio Racyja, who was detained today in Minsk by KGB, answers the phone. He said an apartment, hired by one of the radio journalists, was searched by six KGB officers.

12:52 Borodin's under-secretary: Next gas price for Belarus can exceed $200

The new gas price for Belarus can exceed $200 per 1 thousand cubic metres. Such an opinion has been expressed by a deputy chairman of the state secretariat of the "union state" of Belarus and Russia Vasily Khrol at a video conference.

11:10 Mass repressions against journalists in Belarus

Apartment of journalists of foreign media are searched today all over Belarus. Militia ad KGB officers search apartments of journalists of Independent Radio Racyja. Journalists of non-state EuroRadio, who were in n office of one of Minsk companies, have become unavailable since morning. Apartments of journalists of the independent satellite TV channel Belsat are searched, too. Journalists are detained in Minsk, Homel, Hrodna, Vitsebsk, Brest, Babruisk and Byaroza.

8:38 25 March authorities did their best to ruin Belneftekhim

"On Freedom Day the authorities did their best to ruin Belneftekhim and make Europe to work out harsher policy towards the Belarusian dictatorship," Andrei Sannikov, international coordinator of Charter'97, member of the organising committee of the civil campaign "European Belarus," said commenting on break up of the peaceful opposition demonstration on 25 March.