**For background, see IFEX alerts dated 14 June, 30 April 1996 and others** The wife of a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent in Minsk, Galina Drakokhrust, was beaten by three assailants at 2:00 hours on 22 June 1996, the correspondent told CPJ. Yury Drakokhurst was away on a business trip in Poland when the […]
**For background, see IFEX alerts dated 14 June,
30 April 1996 and others**
The wife of a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
correspondent in Minsk, Galina Drakokhrust, was beaten by three
assailants at 2:00 hours on 22 June 1996, the correspondent told
CPJ. Yury Drakokhurst was away on a business trip in Poland when
the unknown intruders forced open his locked door and seized his
wife. They beat her with fists, saying “tell your husband about
this,” and she lost consciousness. When she awoke, she found they
had placed her in a bathtub full of hot water. She discovered that
nothing had been removed from the apartment. Police were summoned
and took fingerprints from the furniture, although Mrs.
Drakokhrust noted that at least one assailant was wearing gloves.
Yury Drakokhrust, who is known by the pseudonym Marat Dymov, a
name he assumed in 1991 and subsequently revealed, regularly
reports on Belorussian news and politics for RFE/RL, an
international radio station funded by the United States Congress.
Drakokhrust believes the attack was not related to the Minsk
underworld, because he has no business ties and does not report on
economic or crime stories. While he cannot make any specific
allegations as to the agency or individuals involved, Drakokhrust
believes the Belarus government sanctioned the attack in
retaliation for his independent coverage of the crackdown on the
opposition in recent months. In particular, Drakokhrust had
reported on journalists beaten while attempting to cover
opposition demonstrations or issue independent newspapers, now
banned or suspended in Belarus by the conservative government of
President Alexander Lukashenko (see IFEX alerts).
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