29.04.2010 Journalists’ Computers will be Further Examined

Four Belarusian journalists were interrogated by the police once again 28 April. They were informed their computers that had been confiscated during searches in March 2010 would be further examined. Besides, some of them learnt the police had found some files “related to the criminal case” on their hard drives.

24.04.2010 Salihorsk: ‘Kidnapping’ vs. ‘Young Front’ candidate

Candidate Aliaksei Valabuyeu has become a real headache for the local ideologists. Having finished with the promotion campaign of his rival, colonel Zainchkouski, the local media proceeded to indirect criticism aimed at Valabuyeu.

22.04.2010 Belarusian prosecutor's office: Searches, interrogations and beating of independent journalists are legal

The prosecution agencies consider beating of journalists and confiscation of office ecquipment are not violations of the law.

In the investigation of the defamation against former head of KGB directorate of Homel region Ivan Korzh, there were no violations of the law found, and there are no grounds for taking measures of reaction by the prosecutor.

22.04.2010 Vitsebsk journalist Staraverau arrested

Vitsebsk independent journalist Uladzislau Staraverau was detained by the police for shooting a ‘controlled-access enterprise’ – local detention center – where Siarhei and Vital Kavalenkas are currently serving their sentences for staging a rally with white-red-white flags on 21 April, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.

21.04.2010 Independent journalist detained for interviewing European Belarus leader

A journalist interviewing Andrei Sannikov was detained by militia in the center of Minsk.

As Andrei Sannikov, the leader of the civil campaign European Belarus, told in an interview to charter97.org, independent journalist Tatsyana Belashova was filming an interview with him in Frunze Street near Gorky Park, when a car with three militiamen drove up.

19.04.2010 International Report Demands Radical Reform of Belarus Media

Today, on 19 April international media and press freedom organisations issued " For Free and Fair Media in Belarus", a report calling for far reaching reforms of the media in Belarus.

14.04.2010 ’Nasha Tolochinshchina’ created a gallery of portraits of pro-governmental candidates

Some interesting observations by Ales Mazhuha have been recently published at orsha.belarda.org.

14.04.2010 Newspaper of Babruisk town executive committee calls on electors to vote early and cast their votes for deputies of last convocation

The main printed organ of the Babruisk town executive committee, printed the article We Will Choose a Future for Our Town on Our Own. The article opens with a statement that all events that take place in the town ‘should be viewed through the prism of the upcoming elections’. Then its author, Aliaksandr Tsimafeyeu, mentions the presence of members of political parties in the lists of candidates, and adds that the main thing is not a ‘sympathetic status’, but ‘serving to the people’.

08.04.2010 Vitsebsk: another detention of candidate for deputy

In the night of 7-8 April, the road police detained the car with Volha Karach, deputy of the Vitsebsk city council of the 24th convocation, and her husband Aleh Barshcheuski, on suspicion of carjacking.

08.04.2010 Police confiscated circulation of another edition of ‘Vitebskiy Kuryer’

The car of Vikar Ramniou, the founder of Vitebskiy Kuryer, was stopped by policemen in the Mahiliou region, on the way from a Smolensk printing house.

08.04.2010 Hrodna: important information is concealed from electors

The state-owned newspaper Hrodzenskaya Prauda serves as almost the only source of official information about the elections in Hrodna. However, it tends to conceal some important information from the electorate. For instance, the edition that features information about the candidates for the Hrodna city and the Hrodna regional Councils of Deputies wasn't retailed at the newsstands of Belsayuzdruk. Its complete version was sent only to libraries.

07.04.2010 Pavel Sharamet summoned to interrogation on 'hunters' case'

Pavel Sharamet has been summoned for interrogation to law-enforcing agencies of Russia upon the request of the Interior Ministry of Belarus. He is to give explanations in connection with the defamation case opened in Belarus after several articles in independent mass media about the former head of the Homel KGB bureau Korzh.

02.04.2010 Salihorsk dwellers demand a wider coverage of election campaign

Ten dwellers of Salihork addressed the administration of the local TV channel with a written demand to cover the election campaign at a wider scope. The signers of the address are of the opinion that more attention can be paid to the personalities of the candidates and their election programs taking into account that there are only several constituencies where the elections will be alternative.

02.04.2010 Viktar Ramniou and Volha Karach detained in Vitsebsk

V. Ramniou was detained for 'distribution of the Vitebskiy Kuryer newspaper' and V.Karach – for disobedience to the police. As said by human rights defender Pavel Levinau, Mr. Ramniou was guarded to the Pershamaiski district police department and confiscated 53 copies of the newspaper.

02.04.2010 Interrogations of independent journalists

Independent journalists Natallia Radzina, Sviatlana Kalinkina and Iryna Khalip have been summoned to the Pershamaiski district police department of Minsk on 2 April.