Police stopped BHC human rights watchdogs from taking a bus ride

After police interference members of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee public association could not celebrate Human Rights Day.

It was planned that on December 10 the BHC would organize a festive tram ride, which was to start from Myasnikov Street and continue around the city for 2 hours. BHC activists planned to organize meetings with famous persons, human rights activists, writers and journalists in the tram, BelaPAN informs.

However in the morning the organisers were told that the tram would not be able to go for technical reasons. The organisers urgently rented a bus which was to leave “Druzhnaya” bus station and follow the route of bus #100.

About 40 persons gathered at “Druzhnaya” bus station to take part in the ride, including Swedish Ambassador Stefan Eriksson, writer Uladzimir Arlou, political writer Viktar Martsinovich, human rights watchdogs and journalists. Nevertheless the bus didn’t arrive to the assembly point. As informed by the organisers, it had been stopped by policemen for alleged violation of traffic rules and sent to the police department of Kastrychnitski district of Minsk.

At the moment organisers of the celebration are on their way to the police department to find out why the bus had been stopped and why it had been done by policemen, not traffic policemen.

At the same time, BHC activists are still set to hand out materials dedicated to International Human Rights Day in the streets of Minsk.