Border guards continue haunting human rights defenders: Nasta Loika got detained and searched

The human rights defender Nasta Loika was detained for several hours at the border crossing point “Kamenny Loh” while returning home from Vilnius.

The border guards searched Nasta and her belonging and drew up an appropriate report. Nasta returned to Minsk late at night.

The haunting of human rights defenders on the border has become systemic already. On 30 September the car of the civil activists Siarzhuk Semianiuk and Iryna Smiayan-Semianiuk and their personal belongings were searched at the border crossing point “Novaya Huta” when they were returning from the Ukraine after visiting with their relatives. Nothing prohibited was found as a result.

On 1 October the human rights defender Zmitser Salauyou was searched on the border with Poland.  His car was “examined” for over five hours. It was put in a special box, where all its departments including the hood and the bottom were thoroughly searched. The customs officers paid a special interest to a poster with Ales Bialiatski, CDs dedicated to the death penalty and a manual for election observers. No examination or confiscation reports were drawn up. The reasons for such “examination” weren't explained.