Editor-in-chief of the “Russian Newsweek” Alexandr Gordeev in his interview to “Gazeta.ru” named the actions of the Belarusian authorities, that imprisoned Russian journalist Alexei Ametov, “an utter lawlessness”. “It is offensive and intolerable. I am going to Minsk today. I do not know what I shall do there yet. We tried to get in touch with the Embassy, they told that they allegedly deal with this case, but in reality they are doing nothing,” Gordeev said.
On the next day after the court where the chair of the Minsk regional branch of the United Civil Party Maryna Bahdanovich had been found guilty of organizing an unsanctioned march on April 26, and sentenced to a fine of 150 basic units, a marshal of court came to her place.
At the moment a meeting organized by the youth branch of the Union of Right Forces, is taking place in front of the Belarusian Embassy in Moscow. About 40 participants have gathered for the protest, including the leader of the youth branch of the Union of Right Forces, Denis Terekhov, and deputy head of the Yabloko party Sergei Mitrokhin.
The observer of the “Moskovskiy Komsomolets” Vadim Rechkalov has arrived in Minsk today in connection with the 8-days arrest of its reporter Mikhail Romanov. Today the well-known Russian journalist has visited the special detention center and brought some articles to the arrested co-worker.
14-year-old Danila Barysevich (Danila Borisevich), a pupil of one of Minsk secondary schools and a member of the Zubr movement has been beaten up by SWAT officers during the protest on April 26 only because he was wearing a jersey with the words “Freedom to Marynich!” He was transported by emergency ambulance from the police department of Lenin district. In the hospital number 6 of Minsk the doctor cased his arm in plaster, because of rupture of the ligament of the arm.
Belarus is still under hardest exterior pressure. Despite of this, we have managed to maintain the normal pace of social and economic development, and political stability. Alyaksandr Lukashenka told about it during the consultations on the problem of military operational readiness and the condition of armaments in the Armed Forces of the country.
In Belarus citizens of Ukraine have been sentenced to 10 and 15 days of arrest for participation in street rally in Minsk. On Wednesday, April 27, the court of Lenin district of Minsk has sentenced 4 Ukrainians and 14 Russian citizens to arrests from 10 to 15 days for “infringements of legislation on the staging of religious, sports, mass cultural or other spectator events, as well as gatherings, mass meetings, street processions, demonstrations and pickets”. The Interior Ministry of Belarus has stated that they all are to serve the terms in Minsk. The position of Ukraine in this problem, as well as the demands for explanation were included to the second note of the Ukrainian FM addressed to the Belarusian Embassy in Ukraine.
Members of Ukraine`s National Alliance put up three tents close to the Belarusian embassy in Kyiv to protest Tuesday`s arrest of five fellow activists, including the association’s leader, Ihor Huz, in Minsk.
The Union of Right Forces (SPS) has demanded the release of the 14 Russians arrested during an anti-Lukashenko demonstration in downtown Minsk on April 26. Russia’s Yabloko party urged the country’s foreign ministry to demand that the Belarusian authorities stop arbitrary treatment of the Russians, including six arrested members of the party’s youth wing.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry charged Belarusian authorities with violating the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in its statement issued in response to the arrest of five Ukrainians during an unauthorized demonstration in downtown Minsk on April 26.
A criminal case against opposition activists Pavel Severinets and Nikolai Statkevich, accused of staging mass protests in the wake of last October’s referendum and parliamentary elections, has been referred to the court of Minsk’s Tsentralny district.
Representatives of Belarus’ pro-democracy parties intend to meet next week to analyze the early results of their campaign to select a single democratic presidential nominee, Aleksandr Dobrovolsky, deputy chairman of the United Civic Party (UCP), told BelaPAN.
The international affairs committee of the House of Representatives of the Belarusian National Assembly recommended ratifying a Belarusian-Iranian agreement on mutual assistance and cooperation in customs matters.
Prosecutors may bring criminal charges against the Minsk-based weekly Zhoda for publishing collages featuring Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko. On March 24, police and Committee for State Security (KGB) officers raided the office of Zhoda seizing four computers.
The officers said they acted on a tip by an unidentified person that the periodical was allegedly involved subversive activity.
The United States are assigning a year and a half for Lukashenka’s removing from power. This statement is contained in the article “Belarus: Condoleeza Rica has brought a Surprise”, published in the new issue of the popular Russian weekly “Argumenty i fakty”.
The offices of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine in the UN blocked the UN Development Program’s press release dedicated to the 19th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster because it conflicted with the interests of the hardest-hit countries, Ruslan Yesin, a spokesman for the Belarusian foreign office, said on April 28.
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