Hlybokaye activist harassed ahead of election
Yaraslau Bernikovich. Photo by svaboda.org.
Hlybokaye opposition activist Yaraslau Bernikovich faces an unscheduled audit from local tax inspection after he announced his intention to run in the upcoming parliamentary election.
According to Mr. Bernikovich, the audit of his firm called “Prefekt-Info” is directly linked to his political activities, as the tax inspection officials do not conceal the fact, saying they received “an order” from Minsk.
“Moreover, Hlybokaye has been recently visited by the KGB employees from Minsk, who had conversations with various people here. I cannot but suspect that it is for this reason some of the firm’s clients decided to refuse cooperation,” says Mr. Bernikovich.
The potential loss of clients and advertising is sure to have an adverse effect on the financial state of the Prefekt-Info regional newspaper issued by Mr. Bernikovich’s firm. However, the publisher says he is not going to quit the election campaign.
Yaraslau Bernikovich is activist of the Belarusian Popular Front Party, For Freedom movement and Tell the Truth civil campaign. It is his third attempt to run for the Parliament. Yaraslau Bernikovich has also run for local council, and was leader of local election headquarters of pro-democratic candidates Siamion Domash, Aliaksandr Milinkevich and Uladizmir Niakliayeu during the previous presidential elections.
