18 May 10 | Index Index, minipost
A court has fined seven activists for participating in a gay pride march. Riot police forcibly detained activists on the Slavic Gay Parade in the capital Minsk on Saturday. About 230 people gathered for the annual event, which is held in a different country ever year to mark International Day Against Homophobia. Local officials banned the march on the grounds that it would pass too close to underground pedestrian crossings and metro stations. In a separate incident on Monday, activists were arrested protesting against the detention of political prisoners Mikalai Autukhovich and Uladzimir Asipenka. On Friday, a court fined Maksim Vinyarski of the European Belarus movement for participating in a protest held in March against the prisoners’ detention.
13 May 10 | Index Index, minipost
Two journalists were barred yesterday from the trial of a party activist who hung up a white-red-white flag. Syarhei Serabro and Uladzimir Staraverau of the Narodnye Novosti Vitebska newspaper were told by police that they did not have permission to attend the trial of Syarei Kavalenka. Kavalenka, an activist for the opposition BDF party, is accused of hooliganism, he displayed the national red and white flag, a symbol of opposition to the government of President Alexander Lukashenko.
11 May 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Local officials summoned four journalists for questioning as part of their investigation into alleged slandering of a senior KGB officer. Police recently searched the homes of four journalists and seized their computers as part of the investigation into internet reports that claimed KGB officers had fabricated a case against a local police officer. Natalia Radzina of Index on Censorship award nominees charter97.org, Irina Khalip of Novaya Gazeta, and Svetlana Kalinkina and Marina Koktysh of Novaya Volya are awaiting the results of investigations into files stored on their computers, which have still not been returned to them. In a separate development, sources at charter97.org say that a second slander case has been brought against them involving comments posted by users on their website.
11 May 10 | Index Index, Uncategorized
On 7 May, police arrested activists at demonstrations marking the disappearance of government minister, Yury Zakharanka. Roman Kislyak and Andrey Sharenda were arrested as they distributed leaflets marking the 11th anniversary of Zakharanka, who was abducted in 1999. In a parallel incident, seven protesters were arrested at a demonstration in Minsk. There are suspicions that senior government officials in Belarus were involved Zakharanka’s disappearance.
