On 26 April 1996, several journalists were beaten and detained during police dispersal of an unauthorized march in the capital, Minsk, on the 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Authorities reportedly set up a police line of OMON (special riot police) officers to stop the demonstrators from proceeding. The reporters were standing with their […]
On 26 April 1996, several journalists were beaten and detained
during police dispersal of an unauthorized march in the capital,
Minsk, on the 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Authorities reportedly set up a police line of OMON (special riot
police) officers to stop the demonstrators from proceeding. The
reporters were standing with their press credentials prominently
displayed in front of the line in between police and
demonstrators, watching as former parliamentary deputy speaker
Stanislau Shushkievich was attempting to negotiate with police.
However, as the crowd surged forward and police began beating
demonstrators with truncheons, several journalists became caught
in the clashes. Eduard Terlitsky of Radio Liberty was clubbed by
a policeman and required sutures for a serious head injury. Elena
Lukashevich of the independent Belarussian newspaper “Imya” and
Leonid Sveridov of RTV (Russian state television) were also
beaten. In addition, freelance reporter Oleg Trezna and Belarus
Radio correspondent Vladimir Diuba were detained after the
demonstration and are currently in custody. Trezna was sentenced
to five days in jail in an administrative proceeding on charges
of “disturbing the peace,” while Diuba was detained on the street
near his radio station’s office and is being held pending
charges.
According to the Moscow-based Glasnost Defence Foundation, at
least four other reporters were beaten and/or detained on 26
April as they were covering the march. They include: Oleg
Bebenin of “Imya”, Tsesary Golinsky of the Polish newspaper
“Gazeta Wyborcha”, Vladimir Kormilkin, a freelance
photojournalist, and Oles Mikolaichenko of “Nasha Slova”, an
independent Belarussian newspaper.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
Belarus, Polish and Russian reporters attempting to peacefully
exercise their internationally-recognized right to cover the news
freely
Trezna and Vladimir Diuba as well as any other correspondents
detained for reporting on the march
public events without hindrance or harm
tendency to suppress press freedom in Belarus
Appeals To
His Excellency Alexander Lukashenko
President
Minsk 220010, Belarus Republic
Fax: +375 172 23 58 25
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.
