BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

04/07/2007

Belarus KGB searches opposition premises, detains democratic activists

On June 2 in Budslau, Myadzel district, where an annual mass holiday of Belarusian Catholics was held, 14 activists of a campaign for freedom of worship were detained, online agency Khartiya'97 reports.

News agency BelaPAN wrote, referring to the press-service of the campaign, that the activists belonged to different Christian denominations, and were collecting signatures in defense of St. Joseph Church in Minsk, and for bringing the law On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations in line with the Constitution of Belarus.

According to the press-service, participants of the collection of signatures were detained by local policemen and KGB agents of Minks and Minsk area directorate, and spent about three hours in the police department of Budslau. About 500 copies of a bulletin of the campaign, Vesnik, were confiscated. The detainees were asked to give explanations in presence of KGB officers. A report was brought up against one of the coordinators of the campaign, Sergei Lukanin, for dissemination of printed materials without imprint. Meanwhile a search was held in the head office of the organizing committee of the party Belarusian Christian Democracy in Pushkin Avenue in Minsk. The Charter'97 press-center was told about that by a co-chairman of the organizing committee on creation of the party, Alexei Shein. It is still unknown who is carrying out a search, possibly representatives of both, KGB and police.

Source:

http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1340