BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/03/2008

Belarusian KGB Agents Search Journalists' Offices, Homes

MINSK, Belarus (AP)--Belarusian intelligence agents have searched the homes and offices of a dozen independent journalists for materials allegedly libeling the country's authoritarian president, the Belarusian Journalists' Association said Thursday.

The group said agents of the KGB, the Belarusian successor of the Soviet secret police, searched two radio stations in the capital and private apartments throughout the country.

The journalist group's head, Zhanna Litvina, said the crackdown was in retaliation for the coverage of a rally Tuesday marking what the opposition has traditionally called "Freedom Day." The banned holiday marks the anniversary of the 1918 declaration of the first, short-lived independent Belarusian state.

After the protest, at least 20 people, including two reporters, were convicted of participating in an unsanctioned meeting and sentenced to up to 15 days in jail.

KGB officials refused to comment.

According to Belarusian law, libeling President Alexander Lukashenko is punishable by up to four years in jail.

Lukashenko, dubbed Europe's last dictator by Western governments, has ruled Belarus since 1994.

Source:

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080327%5cACQDJON200803270922DOWJONESDJONLINE000696.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Belarusian%20KGB%20Agents%20Search%20Journalists'%20Offices,%20Homes

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