Narodnaia Volia Distributors Appeal Police Actions to Procurator’s Office

Distributors of Narodnaia Volia newspaper are often detained by the police. Public activists complain against these lawless actions to procurator’s office and ask to conduct check-ups, take measures of procurator’s reaction and punish the guilty policemen.

Here’s an excerpt from Paviel Batuieu’s complaint:
On 25 October 2005 I, Batuieu Paviel, together with Mazanik Aliaksandr handed out Narodnaia Volia newspaper at the crossing of Skaryna Avenue and Varvashenia Street (Niezaliezhnastsi Avenue and Masherau Avenue) free of charge. At about 2.15 some policemen came up to us. They didn’t introduce themselves, ordered me and Mazanik A.I. come with them to the police car and drove us to Minsk Tsentralny Borough Board of Internal Affairs. They didn’t explain the reasons for our detention. At Tsentral BBIA the police major Kamiera H.V. confiscated from me 627 copies of Narodnaia Volia and composed a confiscation report about it. The police didn’t compose the reports about administrative violation and administrative detention as Articles #234 and #240 of the Code of Administrative Violations demand. The reasons for my detention and confiscation of the newspaper weren’t explained either. I refused from dactylography and video shooting. In consider lawless the police actions that manifested in my detention and confiscation of the newspaper. Narodnaia Volia is an officially registered edition in the Republic of Belarus. All its copies contain the issue data in accordance with the demands of the acting legislation on mass media. The distribution of this newspaper is not prohibited and its activity is not suspended by any rulings of courts or other state organs. Accordingly, I surely had the right to distribute this edition in the streets of the city of Minsk. I didn’t violate the public order and/or legal interests of citizens by these actions.