Unofficial martial law declared in Belarus

Under martial law, “unreliable” citizens are being caught and interned.

Independent journalist Henadz Barbarych spoke to charter97.org about the sentencing blogger Zmitser Halko and journalist Aliaksandr Yarashevich  to 10 and 12 days in custody.

“The opposition keeps a low profile now, while media continue to cover the situation in the country, including the issues “unpleasant” for the Belarusian authorities. The authorities do an awful thing when they say the Chernobyl zone is absolutely safe and suitable for agricultural activities. At the same time independent ecologists say even small radiation doses kill. One cannot argue against the growth of cancer diseases, especially among children. Journalists and ecological activists turn attention to these problems, which irritates officials,” a Radio Racyja journalist thinks.

He added the topic of construction of the Astravets nuclear power plant remains of high concern.

“Representatives of the authorities state it is the safest nuclear plant in the world while anti-nuclear activists note that there's no project for the NPP construction. Journalists offer these questions for public discussion, and the Belarusian authorities don't like it. They want to scare journalists and make them shut up. Or to jail them on no grounds. Every word in police reports is blatant lies,” Henadz Barbarych says.

He noted such actions should be interpreted as arbitrary detentions.

“Under martial law, 'unreliable' people can be caught and interned. We see an element of martial law, when people are being caught and thrown behind bars. They invented an administrative article for the international community, but this is arbitrary detentions. The lying authorities punish journalists for telling the truth. Yarashevich's main theme is the ecological situation in Belarus. He meets with ecologists and work on this topic. His activity irritates the authorities and they try to neutralise him in this way,” Henadz Barbarych concluded.