Candidate to Chamber of Representatives Is Pressurized by Police
On 13 July the head of the public security department of Navahradak Town Board of Internal Affairs (TBIA) A. Kiarletski phoned to the activist of Belarusian Labor Party Larysa Bukhalenka and proposed her to come to the TBIA for a talk about her political activity. Bukhalenka said she would come to the TBIA only if she received printed call-up where it was specified in which capacity she was summoned.
On 14 July she received the call-up to come to the TBIA as a witness. When she came there and asked the witness of what she could be, A. Kiarletski showed her fly-sheets with information about her and the program of the People’s Coalition “5+” – “Five steps to better life”.
The policeman asked L. Bukhalenka about her political activity, where the fly-sheets were printed and how they were delivered to Navahradak. She asked whether any guests came to her and whether she could meet anyone if he came to her flat at night. Then she said that 6 policemen would come to her at night to conduct a search.
L. Bukhalenka refused to answer the policeman’s questions and sign anything. Then she had a talk with the head of Navahradak TBIA Zmitrevich, who said he wanted to see only law-abiding citizens in the Parliament, not such as Larysa Bukhalenka…
As a result, they read a warning to Larysa Bukhalenka that prohibited her “to distribute printed production before the agitation stage”.
-- Such illegal actions of Navahradak police seem at least surprising, because only prosecutor’s offices and KGB have the powers to issue warnings. Besides, one can’t speak of “agitation stage”, because the election hasn’t been declared yet, -- said the lawyer of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” Valiantsin Stefanovich.
Larysa Bukhalenka composed a complaint to Navahradak Town Prosecutor’s Office against the illegal actions of the police and had an audience of Navahradak prosecutor A. Yudo.
