Print run of private newspaper Den seized on Russian border :: Charter'97 :: News

A print run of the private newspaper Den was seized on Belarus` Russian border on the evening of May 26, Editor-in-Chief Nikolai Markevich told BelaPAN. According to Mr. Markevich, the shipment passed the Belarusian customs checkpoint without hindrance but then the vehicle was stopped by road police officers who said that there might be something wrong with the shipment.

The vehicle was taken to the Dubrovno district police department in the Vitebsk region, where all Den copies were seized on the alleged ground that the newspaper "is not accredited," Mr. Markevich said with reference to the driver.

"Police officers said that they had nothing against the other printed material carried by the vehicle, but they had objections to the Den," Mr. Markevich said.

According to him, the printing house in Russia`s Smolensk where the paper is printed, had received a letter from Liliya Ananich, Belarus` deputy minister of information, who alleged that the Den had failed to pass through the re-registration procedure and suggested stopping printing the paper. "This is a barefaced lie," Mr. Markevich said. "We passed through the re-registration procedure and obtained a registration certificate in accordance with the law."

"I complained to the information ministry about Ananich`s move, as I view it as a deliberate illegal attempt to hamper the operation of a media outlet," Mr. Markevich said. "She should be punished for this under the Press Law."