Arbitrary actions by police at sports centre in Brest

Officers of the riot police conducted a thorough search of all visitors of the Victoria sports centre in Brest.

People already got used to the presence of police at sporting events, though it distracted hundreds of fans from visiting stadiums and sports facilities. But what happened in Brest last weekend went beyond the bounds. Fans, foreign sportsmen and even children had to underwent a humiliating search procedure performed by the local riot police, Belsat TV reports.

The local handball club Meshkov Brest and Lovćen (Montenegro) had a match in the SEHA League on Saturday February 8. Riot police officers blocked all entries to the Victoria sports centre and thoroughly searched every visitor, often in a rude manner. Fans, sports centre staff, journalists, Montenegrin players and children were searched. The riot police officers even ordered a seven-year-old girl to take toys out of her bag.

Next day, about ten policemen again met visitors of the Victoria centre, who came to a match of the amatour futsal tournament organised by the local club Liubitel. Old fans of the tournament (that marks the 22nd anniversary) say they have never seen such a humiliating procedure.

The riot police officers refer to the law on police and the law on mass events. But they themselves violated laws: policemen didn't have badges with their names on the uniform. Those who asked the policemen to introduce themselves were sent for a more thorough search. Their passport details were wrote down by the police. The policemen didn't explain reasons for the increased security at the sports centre. They just said they had an order. Some women were frisked by male police officers.

“I am angry at riot police's actions,” fan Uladzimir says. “I haven't been visiting matches of Dinamo Brest for three years due to arbitrary actions by the police. There are hundreds of people who stopped attending football matches due to the police. Police senior officials should think about the behaviour of their, to put it mildly, ill-mannered officers, otherwise games will be played with empty stands and tension in society will grow.”