Baranavichy businessman questioned to prevent meeting with President

On March 17, Mikalai Charnavus, the leader of Baranavichy entrepreneurs, was expected to go to Minsk to join a meeting of President Aliaksandr Lukashenka with entrepreneurs. But instead of meeting with the head of state, the civil society activist was forced to appear at the local police department, where police Captain Siarhei Paulenau interviewed him urging the activist to respect the law.

“Late in the evening on March 16, I received a call from the police on my cell phone and was invited to the police station the following morning to discuss, according to a police officer, important documents related to my civil activities. I certainly could refuse to go, demanding an official summons. But I have been repeatedly taken off trains, had my apartment searched, many times detained in the city, even in hospital. So I decided not to aggravate my already difficult relationship with law enforcement agencies and came to the police department. As a result of the conversation, I received the second warning in the last two weeks against staging rallies, marches, pickets of entrepreneurs without the permission of city authorities,” says the activist.

Mikalai Charnavus is convinced that the urgent invitation to the police was aimed to prevent him from going to Minsk for a meeting with President.