Mahiliou: action for free development of internet stopped by police

A rally under the slogan ‘For Free Development of Internet’ was to have taken place on 24 July in Mahiliou. About 30 youngsters came to the Culture House in Chaliuskintsy Street 64a to protest against presidential decree #60 imposing restrictions on the internet since 1 July.

At about 5 p.m. they tried to start the action. They unrolled the streamer ‘Freedom to Internet!’ and dressed in T-shirts with crossed number ‘60’. At that moment they were approached by two policemen, one of whom was dressed in plain clothes and the other in the uniform. They demanded that the action be stopped as the participants had no official permission for it. Earlier, the Mahiliou City Executive Committee banned one of them, 19-year-old Valiantsin Labachou, to hold the rally in another place, in the Savetskaya Square. As a result, Valiantsin was accused of being the organizer of the unauthorized rally and guarded to the police station. He had no documents confirming his identity except for certificate of a member of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM).