Keep Belarus off the rink

Despite a deplorable human rights record, Belarus will host the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship. German MP Marina Schuster argues organisers should take the competition elsewhere

President Alexander Lukashenko on the ice during a match on 8 September 2011.

(more…)

Belarus: journalist detained for allegedly slandering president

Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut was detained last night for allegedly insulting the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko. Poczobut writes for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, and now faces up to five years in prison. According to his wife, police raided the couple’s apartment, and confiscated the journalist’s computer. Last year, Poczobut was handed a suspended sentence for articles he wrote against Lukashenko. Officers reportedly told his wife that they would “not leave him alone” if he continues to criticise the president.