Twenty-two independent journalists rounded up in post-election crackdown :: Charter'97 :: News

Reporters Without Borders said it was appalled at an unprecedented crackdown against independent journalists after the overnight arrest of nine more, bringing to 22 the number rounded up since the start of the week, 13 of whom are still in prison.

Five days after the contested re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko the nine journalists were arrested on 23-24 March and detained at an unknown location.

The crackdown intensified overnight on 23-24 March, during which anti-riot police arrested hundreds of opposition demonstrators.

"These arrests are intended to gag dissent and to sow a climate of terror in the country. The independent journalists should be immediately released," said Reporters Without Borders, calling on representatives of foreign countries in Belarus and on neighbouring countries to intervene on behalf of the jailed journalists.

Among the nine journalists arrested are four members of the Belarus Association of Journalists (BAJ), a partner organisation of Reporters Without Borders. Freelance Vadim Kaznacheyeu, Tatsiana Snitko and Artsiom Liava, respectively freelance correspondent and photographer on Nasha Niva, as well as Tatiana Vanina, were arrested at 3am and taken to an unknown place of detention.

Also picked up were non-accredited Canadian freelance, Frederic Levoi, Andrey Rasinski, of the weekly Nasha Niva, Nino Giorgabiani and Georgiy Lagidze, of the Georgian public broadcast group OGT and Alexander Podrabinek, of the Russian news agency Prima-News.

Thirteen other journalists remain behind bars, most of them sentenced to several days in prison for alleged "hooliganism", "taking part in an unauthorised gathering" or for "offering obscenities".

They are being held in shocking conditions in overcrowded and unheated cells and with an utter lack of hygiene. Beds are wooden planks with no bedding and the toilet is a hole dug in the ground.

The first journalist to be sentenced at the start of the week was Aliaxey Shein, working for the press group of opposition candidate Alexander Milinkevich. He was arrested on 20 March and sentenced to five days in prison.

On 21 March, five more journalists were targeted in the official crackdown:
- Igor Bantser, of the weekly Glos znad Niemna was sentenced to ten days in prison
- Andrzej Pisalnik, of the same newspaper, was jailed for 12 days
- Yuri Chavusau, journalist with the NGO Internet Portal and founder of Palitychnaya Sfera and Arche magazines, ten days.
- Alexey Rads, of Internet forum forum.grodno.net, ten days.
- Dzmitry Hurnevich, freelance correspondent for Polish radio, Radio Polonia, ten days.

On 22 March, three other journalists were jailed:
- Andrey Dynko, editor of the weekly Nasha Niva, ten days.
- Vadim Aleksandrovitch, journalist on the weekly Belorusy i Rinok, ten days.
- Andrij Lukka, Ukrainian journalist on Karpatski Holos, 15 days.

On 23 March, three journalists joined their colleagues in Belarus prisons:
- Ivan Roman, freelance correspondent for the weekly Solidarnast, was sentenced to 13 days in prison. He had earlier been arrested, on 17 March, taken to a police station, questioned with a gun held to his head and threatened.
- Viktor Yarashuk, editor of the local magazine Myastsovy Chas, six days. He had already been held for five days from 15-20 March.
- Anton Taras, freelance journalist, 11 days.
- Sergey Salash, of the magazine Offside, 13 days.

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