Police Search Apartments of Youth Activists

Source: www.charter97.org

Policemen have searched apartments of activists of the Young Front in Baranavichy and Orsha. Stickers, badges, CDs founds by policemen, were taken to a police department. An activist of Orsha district branch Siarhei Huminski has been called in for questioning. A criminal action was brought against him for making political graffiti.

Another search was conducted at the apartment of Iaraslau Hryschenia, the leader of Baranavichy branch of the Young Front. Mr. Hryshenia has been detained by policemen many times. Iaraslau’s mother told that a district policeman Andrei Voinau was among them. Policemen said that they have to check personal belongings of Iaraslau.

In the apartment the police found several stickers Jeans for Freedom with a picture of Aliaksandr Kazulin, badges I choose Freedom. A day before, on 8 January, policemen detained Iaraslau Hryschenia on a railway station in Baranavichy, when he was dismounting from Minsk train and confiscated all stickers from his backpack without drawing a confiscation report.

The Young Front activist Siarhei Huminski was detained in Orsha in his apartment on 24 December overnight. A criminal case was opened against him for making political graffiti Free Political Prisoners, Freedom to Dashkevich, Long live Belarus and others. Siarhei is 18. He does not rule out that he can follow Artur Finkevich, who is serving the term of corrective labour in Mahiliou for political graffiti.

’I was taken out of the apartment by two policemen. They told me that I was taken for identification, as some fight had taken place. And in the police department I was charged with making graffiti. My home was searched twice. Policemen visited my parents, looked for me. They visited my friends and asked about me. Now they are trying to find my friends,’ Huminski said to RFE/RL.

Siarhei Huminski and Iaraslau Hryshchenia have also been evicted from their educational institutions. They plan to continue studies abroad.