“Children’s state is steady. Three of them will be transferred to the general unit today. Two are to stay in the intensive care until tomorrow’s morning. Children have an acute inhalant poisoning with Cheryomukha (“bird cherry”, army slang) gas, a neuro-paralytic agent used by law-enforcers. This gas can be excreted rather quickly. There will be no complications,” the press center of the Charter’97 was informed in the intensive care on the 4th children’s hospital of Minsk.

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Vitsebsk members of the Belarusian Popular Front party tried to pay money for his stay, and to bring him food and sanitary articles. However, as informed by Radio Svaboda, an officer in the remand prison refused to hand over the parcels, and advised the activists to address for permission the regional prosecutor’s office.

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Employees of the radio station of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus “Novoe Radio” announced a strike in a live radio broadcast. It is connected with a possible dismissal of the director general of the unitary enterprise “Novoe Radio” Vikor Grishanov (Viktar Hryshanau). The Charter’97 press center was informed about that by one of the radio station’s employees, who asked not to tell his name. As said by him, yesterday a commission headed by the chairman of the FTUB leaned Kozik visited the radio station. The commission stated that Vikor Grishanov (by the way, a husband of a well-known singer Elena Grishanova) is dismissed.

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A web-source “Belorusskiy Partizan” informs that reports about closure of the TV Channel Rambler haven’t confirmed. As informed by “Minsk TV informational networks”, since October 3, 2006 frequencies of broadcasting of “MusTV” and “Rambler” have changed. “MuzTV” has been switched from the 23rd channel (487.25 MHz) to SR12 (239.25 MHz), and “Rambler” from SR12 (239.25 MHz) to 23rd channel (487.25 MHz).

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Today in the court of Maskouski district of Brest a complaint of a public activist Andrei Sharenda concerning illegal punishment by an Administrative Commission of Maskouski district of Brest was considered. As we have informed, on July 26 A. Sharenda and several activists were handing out informational leaflets about a meeting before an authorized meeting, which was later banned in the last minute. The activists were detained and fined from 30,000 to 100,000 BYR, as leaflets allegedly “contained information aimed at damaging state and public order”.

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As the Charter’97 press center was told by a journalists of one of Minsk radio stations, wages of the employees of the “Novoe Radio” have been held back frequently, which certainly caused discontent. Besides, cadres’ reshuffles and dismissals have been taking place at the radio station rather often. It negatively influenced the atmosphere and undermined the employees’ confidence in the future.

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The Charter’97 press center is trying to get on the phone sound engineers of the radio station of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus “Novoe Radio”. However, their phones are either switched off or not answering. Journalists of the radio station continue to refuse giving any information referring to the fact that they had been forbidden to make any comments. As we have informed, today a statement has been made in a live radio broadcast of the “Novoe Radio” about a strike as a protest against arbitrary actions of the leadership of the Federation.

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Today in the morning a radio station of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus “Novoe Radio” announced a strike in a live radio broadcast. At about 8 a.m. a music program was interrupted by a statement of the employees of the radio addressed to Alyaksandr Lukashenka. They asked to protect them from arbitrariness of the FTUB leadership. The informational service of the radio denied comments to the Charter’97 press service the situation with the strike, nervously claiming that “everything is alright”. It was also stated that there were “technical problems” at the radio station in the morning.

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As stated in the recent letter of the former presidential candidate, political prisoner Alyaksandr Kazulin, a meeting with German ambassador Martin Hecker had been allowed to him. According to the rules in the colony, Kazulin has a right for 3 short meetings a year. The meeting with German ambassador has been included into the list of meetings with relatives.

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