Mahilou resident sues KGB

Aleh Aksionau filed a suit to Mahilou's Leninski district court against activity of the KGB department in the Mahilou region.

The activist of the organising committee to found the Belarusian Christian Democracy party (BCD) wants the warning to him to be cancelled and the preventive conversation with security officers to be declared illegal and groundless, Viasna human rights centre reports.

Aleh Aksionau (in the picture) wants written apologies from Siarheyenka, the head of the KGB department for the Mahilou region, and oral apologies from KGB officer Makhunou for their illegal actions.

On April 29, KGB officer Makhunou summoned Aleh Aksionau to the KGB for a preventive conversation. Makhunou said the activist received a warning for his “activity on behalf of an unregistered party” (the BCD organasing committee) and for involvement in the activity of two unregistered organisations – the civil campaign “For Fair Elections 2012” and the Mahilou Regional Coalition of Democratic Forces.

To prove his words KGB officer Mahkunou showed printouts of independent websites mentioning the activist's name.

Aleh Aksionau has been on the KGB watchlist for more than a year. BCD activist Tatsiana Shambalava and leader of the regional branch of the BPF Revival party Zmitser Salauyou are also under surveillance of the Mahilou KGB.