BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
10/01/2011
Belarusian KGB Searches Opposition Activists' Homes
MINSK -- Four apartments belonging to Belarusian opposition activists in the city of Brest have been searched in connection with last month's opposition protests in Minsk, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.
Dozens of offices and homes of journalists, pro-democracy activists, and members of opposition parties have been searched over the past several days as a government crackdown on the opposition continues following protests over President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's disputed reelection on December 19.
KGB officers today searched the apartment of Artsyom Tserashonak, who collected signatures for opposition presidential candidates Yaraslau Ramanchuk and Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu in the run-up to the election.
Tserashonak was also summoned for interrogation on January 11.
On the same day, officers searched an apartment rented by Dzmitry Shurkhay, who was a representative of opposition presidential candidate Vital Rymasheuski.
Shurkhay was absent during the search. The KGB officers, according to the owner of the apartment, confiscated some documents.
There were reportedly two other searches of apartments belonging to opposition activists conducted in Brest today.
More than 600 protesters were arrested after the opposition rally on December 19. Most were given sentences of five to 15 days in jail.
Although hundreds have been released, continuing searches and arrests make the number of people still imprisoned unclear.
Source:
http://www.rferl.org/content/belarus_kgb_opposition_searches/2272213.html
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