Journalist Andrei Pachobut Taken to Police Forcibly :: Charter'97 :: News

On June 21 at 8 a.m. a police tour of duty came to the private apartment of Andrei Pachobut, a well-known Hrodna journalist, editor-in-chief of the Polish language magazine “Magazyn Polski”. A journalist and civil society activist was taken to police department of the micro district Dzevyatouka. Andrei Pachobut had been summoned to that police department on Monday, however, the writ had not been handed to him personally, as required by law.

In Dzevyatouka police department investigator Natallya Gajdash told to the journalist that an appeal by former chairman of the Union of Poles of Belarus Tadeusz Kruczkowski against him had been received. He referred to allegedly slanderous articles about him by Andrei Pachobut, calling the journalist editor of the internet site “Pahonya”, which is untrue. Andrei Pachobut refused to give evidence, and was released.

Recently the pressure on the Union of Poles in Belarus has increased. 15 its members have been summoned to Economic Crimes Prevention Department by phone, human rights center “Viasna” informs.