Blogger's Gadgets Seized by the Police

Well-known Brest blogger Siarhei Pyatrukhin deals with journalistic investigations devoted to corruption among officials and security forces.

Police officers came to Siarhei Pyatrukhin, nominee for deputy from Brest, and seized his mobile phone and laptop, Radio Svaboda reports.

"They came because of the comment I had allegedly addressed to a high official of the State Control Committee. I made a report about it three months ago and it was told that former chairman of the Brest city executive committee had illegally handed over to him a land plot in the center of the city. The criminal case was initiated after my report," Pyatrukhin commented on the incident with the police.

He says that he was surprised with requirement of the police to give them his mobile phone, which he bought a week ago and had all documents. The blogger does not understand how this phone can relate to the three-moth-old case.

"Today I have started to collect signatures, there are all my contacts, all my achievements in the laptop," he said.

It is possible that reopening of the case is connected with his election campaign.

Well-known Brest blogger Siarhei Pyatrukhin deals with journalistic investigations devoted to corruption among officials and security forces. On his YouTube channel "People's Reporter" he uploads videos on problem topics related to official misconduct. Every investigation of the journalist is watched by thousands of people.

One of the recent films of Mr. Pyatrukhin "How to earn 50 base units" tells about allocation of land plots for an official of the State Control Committee.

He suggested that such act of former chairman of the city executive committee Aliaksandr Palyshankau could be qualified as the "damage in especially big amount."

Later in May he got a complaint from the police on the comment under his video. However, the case was not developed and its reopening was unexpected.