Police charge wife of critical blogger in Babruisk

A blogger from Babruisk, Aleh Zhalnou, says that on July 15 he visited the Investigative Committee’s office as a witness.

“I was interviewed as a witness in the case opened against my wife Yauheniya,” says Aleh Zhalnou. “Investigator Aliaksandr Famianok said that the case was opened on June 23 under Article 364 “Violence or the threat of violence against members of the Interior”. That is, the same article, under which our son Aliaksei is now being tried.”

The blogger claims that his wife was the victim of aggressive actions of the police department employees, who searched the Zhalnous’ apartment in late May this year.

“If the police officers were calm from the beginning and showed the search warrant that would be quite different matter. They behaved arrogantly, they grabbed me when I left the apartment. My wife saw it and tried to close the door. It was morning, and she had just got out of the bath, undressed. But the policemen were not confused, they started pulling the door open, and then knocked Yauheniya to the floor, and walked over her into the apartment. One of those who conducted the search, Aliaksandr Naumenka said that my wife bit him. However, the investigative committee did not mention the phrase “bit”, as the investigator said “used violence”,” says Aleh Zhalnou.