"Detention of journalists was justified"

The Investigative Committee refused to bring a criminal case on the fact of the detention of members of the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

Lola Buryjeva, Viachaslau Piashko, Siarhei Kruchkou, Mikalai Petrushenka and Siarhei Vazniak intended to cover the meeting of a member of Smaliavichy District Council Yahor Lebiadka with electors, but were detained by officers Smaliavichy District Police Department headed by the chairman of the law protection and prophylaxis department Andrei Martysiuk.

The Investigative Committee didn't find any corpus delicti in the actions of the police.

"We filed our application to the prosecutor's office and the Investigative Committee. The both of them refused to bring a criminal case. Of course, we can continue, but I don't see any sense in it: we know how our state system works – if you apply to a higher institution, your appeal is passed to a subordinate one. We applied to the regional police department, but have received no answer," commented Yahor Lebiadok.

The journalists were detained on 24 December 2012 and released in some time. According to them, the behavior of the police and the questions they asked by far exceeded the framework of "identification". BAJ demands that MP and Interior Minister Ihar Shunevich discriminate in the situation. The Ministry of Internal Affairs answered that the detention of the journalists was justified.