Ambassador Ake Peterson, the Head of the OSCE Office in Minsk, visited today Alexander Kozulin, a prominent political figure and candidate in last March`s presidential election, who was jailed this summer and has been on hunger strike since 20 October.

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Policemen in mufti, who were watching outside the house where an activist of the Union of Poles Andrzej Lisouski lives, have not carried out a search in his apartment. When the leader of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andzelika Borys and UPB activists arrived to the scene, policemen mounted the car and left. However, Andrzej Lisouski has received a summons for interrogation in Hrodna regional customs office tomorrow morning. The Charter’97 press center has been informed about that by the UCP activist Andzrej Poczobutt.

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Right now policemen in mufti are trying to break into the apartment of the activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andrzej Lisouski. The Charter’97 press-center has been informed about that by an activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andrzej Poczobutt. As said by him, there is nobody in the apartment right now. However, the leader of the Union of Poles Andzelika Borys and a few activists has left for the house of Lisouski.

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In Hrodna policemen and special services men stormed the apartment of Yuliya Kotskaya, a worker of the press-service of the united democratic forces Alyaksandr Milinkevich. At that moment a home search is carried out. According to the information of the press-service of Milinkevich, policemen presented a search warrant signed by an investigator who is in charge of the case of blasts in Vitsebsk on September 14 and 22, 2005.

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An activist of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union Alena Zakhodzhaya was taken to the receiving-room of a hospital in Babrujsk. The woman who is continuing the hunger strike for 29 days lost consciousness at her working place.

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Hrodna Regional customs office has brought up a criminal action for drugs smuggling. The matter concerns several packets with white powder allegedly found in the car of the chairperson of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andzelika Borys on October 29, when she was on her way from Lithuania to Belarus. The Charter’97 press-service has been informed about that by an activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andrzej Poczobutt. As said by the activist, experts have found that there were narcotic drugs in the packets. “It is still unknown what kind of drugs it was. First they said it was heroin, then amphetamine, and then- hashish. In any case, I do not think that they had planted these packets into Borys’ car to say later that they contained a detergent,” Poczobutt said to the Charter’97 press center.

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Young activists that have been detained near the court of Kastrychnitski district of Minsk are released, told one of the detainees Yauhen Skrabutan. Activists were arrested by riot policemen in the yard of the court, taken to the building of the court, and then taken out from a different side.

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Riot policemen detained three young activists, Zmitser Khvedaruk, Yauhen Skrabutan and Klueu (first name still inknown), near the court of Kastrychnitski district where the trial over the leader of the Young Front Zmitser Dashkevich.

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Young Front activists and all who had come to express their solidarity with Zmitser Dashkevich, are continuing to stand outside the building of the court of Kastrychnitski district. The trial over the leader of the Young Front is to continue at 2 p.m. there.

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The Belarusian Association of Journalists has received a letter from the Internal affairs department of Mahilyou regional executive committee concerning investigation of the fact of journalists’ arrest in Babrujsk on August 31. It is said in the letter the Internal affairs department of Mahilyou regional executive committee has carried out a check based on an address from the prosecutor’s office of Lenin district (Babrujsk). As a result, a fact of illegal arrest of journalists performing their professional duty on August 31 has not been found.

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Belarus occupies the 11th position in arms trade in the world for the years 1998-2005. It is stated in the report published by the Lower Chamber of the US Congress. It is noted in the document that Belarus has decreased arms deliveries in recent years. Thus, for the period from 1998 to 2001 Belarus sold armaments for the sum of 1 billion dollars. In the next period the country delivered armaments for 100 mln dollars only.

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First arrests have taken place in close proximity to the court of Kastrychnitski district of Minsk, where the trial over Zmitser Dashkevich continues. People in plainclothes who had been watching outside the court building since morning, seized young people who had been nearing the bus stop, placed them into a car and took in an unknown direction.

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The former candidate for presidency in Belarus, Alyaksandr Kazulin, who is serving the sentence in the penal colony No. 3 in Vitsebsk, is hospitalised to the medical unit, journalists were told on Tuesday by Prosecutor General of Belarus Pyotr Miklashevich. As we have informed, Kazulin protests against the iniquity committed in the country, and is trying to attract attention of the UN Security Council to the situation in Belarus. A former MP, a political prisoner Syarhei Skrabets has joined Kazulin’s hunger strike.

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Several hundreds of people have gathered today to express solidarity with Zmitser Dashkevich, the Young Front leader, whose case is studied in the court of Kastrychnitski district of Minsk behind the closed doors. They are well-known politicians, public activists, human rights watchdogs. More than a hundred of young activists in T-shirts “Young Front” and jeans gathered near the court. Though it is very cold, people are standing outside the court for hours scanning “Freedom to Dashkevich!”

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Today Foreign Ministry of Poland has expressed protest in connection with yesterday’s detention of Andzelika Borys, the head of the Union of Poles in Belarus, which is not recognized by the Belarusian authorities, Polish Radio informs. The detention happened at the border crossing “Pryvalka” at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border in the north of Hrodna region.

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