Freelance Journalist: Loyeu Police Chiefs Live By Code Of Criminals

On Tuesday Kanstantsin Zhukouski was brutally detained in Loyeu.

On June 21 in Loyeu policemen detained, took to the district police department and beat a journalist Kanstantsin Zhukouski and a cameraman Aliaksei Atroshchankau, who were shooting at Loyeu brick factory. They were kept at the police department for 6 hours, handcuffed. They underwent tormenting, their arms were twisted, they were thrown on the ground, kicked, Radio Svaboda reports.

Back in Loyeu right after the incident K. Zhukouski went to the Central district hospital, and it was documented there that handcuffs traces were left on his hands, he had scratches on his back, in the area of kidneys, and his collarbone was swollen. His blood was also tested for alcohol. On the next day, in Homel, Zhukouski underwent forensic medical examination which also showed that he had handcuffs’ traces and scratches on his back.

Now the injured press for the Investigative Committee to carry out a check, Zhukouski told.

“In Loyeu I wrote an application to the Investigative Committee, for them to carry out a check related to the fact of beating the journalist at the district police department. I didn’t write to open a criminal case over the fact on purpose, for them not to charge me with giving false evidence, as it happened many times. Moreover, it is very easy to check: a surveillance camera is situated at the entrance of Loyeu police department, and it was working for sure. You can watch the footage, and everything is to become clear!”

Aliaksei Atroshchankau has also written to the police security service, for them to explain the reasons of such cruel treatment. He was detained very brutally, he was thrown into a car. The video camera was thrown there as well – and now there is a fracture on it. Besides, we were held there for more than 6 hours. A human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka helped us to write complaints.

I had visited many regions. It’s true, when people see a man with a camera, he is to be detained for sure, but it had never been so cruel. It usually ended by a conversation with ideology workers. And I think that in Loyeu it was a local initiative. And particularly, behaviour of policemen is surprising, and their conviction they have permission for everything. When I started to resent (“What are you doing?”), the chief of Loyeu police Uladzimir Bukhautsou muttered such obscenities in my ear! And I also said traffic policemen: “How could you expect an order in the country, when a police chief behaves like that?”

And the deputy police chief Henadz Madhzara was choking me, twisted my arms, kicked on my handcuffs with such a delight. My shoulders are still aching. We were just broken, squeezed, our arms wrung. And it happened right at the police department! There is an impression that Loyeu top police officers are living by the codes of the underworld.”

On June 22 the journalists who cover the “All-Belarusian People’s Congress,” told about the beating of their Loyeu colleagues to the Interior Minister Ihar Shunevich:

“Any information about illegal actions of our officers will be checked. And in this case as well. We do not leave unnoticed any of such reports. We are going to give evaluation to these facts. Whether they stepped on the head or not… You know, to my mind, the policemen had no reasons at all to act like that. And I hope that it was like this,” – Shunevich commented on the incident.

We remind that this year an independent journalist from Homel Kanstantsin Zhukouski has stood trial for working without accreditation for Belsat TV channel 7 times already. This year total sum of fines related to such charges against journalists in Belarus already makes more than Br70 million.