A DISTRIBUTOR OF INDEPENDENT PRESS GOT DETAINED AGAIN IN VITSIEBSK

Jule 07, 2006

On July 3 an activist Ales Mudrychenka was detained by the police in the centre of Vitsiebsk. He was carrying an advertisement hoarding of the "Vitebskij Kurjer M" independent newspaper. The inscription on the white-red-white background said "Here and now, "VK" is everywhere".
Mr. Mudrychenka was delivered to the Kastrychnitski District Department of the Interior where a protocol was drawn up. He was released several hours later but the hoarding was confiscated for some "expertise", - informs the "Vitsebskij Kurjer M" newspaper. A.Mudrychenka is a distributor of independent newspapers in Vitsiebsk. It should be reminded that he was also detained by the police on June 26 and fined for 1 base amount.
JOURNALISTS ARE FORBIDDEN TO ASSIST AT A.KAZULIN´S TRIAL

Jule 07, 2006

Journalists were not allowed at A. Kazulin´s trial that started on July 6 in Minsk. Policemen forbade journalists, politicians and all those who had gathered near the building of the Maskouski District Court to attend the hearing. A bit later the former presidential candidate´s relatives, diplomats and several journalists were let in. Policemen explained that there was not enough room for all.

The court rejected A.Kazulin´s request to let journalists film the hearing.

AN INDEPENDENT POLATSK NEWSPAPER "KHIMIK" STOPPED BEING PRINTED BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES

Jule 05, 2006

The edition´s editor-in-chief Syarhey Balai explained that the newspaper had been facing financial difficulties because in December 2005 "Belposhta" cancelled their contract and excluded the newspaper from the subscription catalogue. In February 2006 "Vitsiebskablsayuzdruk" also cancelled the contract with the edition because of "financial inexpediency".

The edition had to organize its own system of distribution but the problem was that it had already lost half of its readership because it was impossible to conduct a normal subscription campaign - in December 2005 the edition´s print run was 4500 issues while not long ago it was only about 300 issues.

At the end of last year the newspaper was cooperating with a number of city shops but later the owners of those shops refused to continue the cooperation because of some "financial difficulties", - said Syarhey

Balai

The newspaper will try to find a way out of the current situation. Probably the editorial staff will be creating an Internet version of the edition.

APPEAL of the Belarusian Association of Journalists on Disappearance of D. Zavadski

Jule 04, 2006

On July 7, 2006 will be the 6th anniversary of the disappearance of Dzmitry Zavadski, an ORT cameraman and a BAJ member.

Six years was not enough for the investigators who have not managed to find out who were the organizers and performers of the crime and what exactly happened to Dzmitry.

Zavadski´s relatives, friends and all Belarusian citizens are still in the dark about the fate of Dzmitry and other journalists who disappeared in Belarus.

The criminal case has been closed and restarted many times but nothing has changed: no information is available.

In connection with it on April 28, 2004 the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe demanded that the Belarusian authorities let conduct an independent investigation of Dzmitry Zavadski´s case and displace the officials that were suspected of participation in the crime from their
posts. The authorities ignored the appeal.

On March 31, 2006 the investigation of the case was stopped again by the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Belarus.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists expresses the opinion of more than one thousand its members and demands that the investigation should be started again.

We will not calm down until we find the organizers and performers of the crime. We remember our friend and colleague Dzmitry Zavadski and we will never forget him.

Adopted at the BAJ Board meeting

EUROPEAN INFORMATION CENTRE IN BELARUS

Jule 04, 2006, Andrej Bastunets, specially for http://www.baj.ru/

The chairperson of PACE Rene van der Linden claimed that it would be good to establish an office of the European Information Centre in Belarus. He informed about it at the meeting with Belarusian journalists that took place last week in Strasbourg. He said it was necessary to provide Belarusians with information.

Anyway the opening of the European Information Centre may be possible only if the Belarusian authorities give the necessary permission. Such a decision would testify to the fact that Belarus was interested in cooperation with Europe.

Rene van der Linden also considered the possibility of his visit to Belarus (he stressed that it was a "possible visit, not a planned one". He informed that he could visit our country and now the Belarusian side should give an answer (send him an invitation). "Isolation is a short-term measure - it is a way to show disagreement with the conducted policy... We have to work in such a situation not because we agree with it but because it is our reality and we have to put up with it", - explained the chairperson of PACE. "I believe that Belarus would like to join our European family, - but it is impossible at the moment".

Secretary General of the Council of Europe Tarry Davis is not going to visit our country in the near future. "I would like to come to Belarus before it becomes an EU member but many changes are necessary for it".

Tarry Davis has already visited Belarus three times and knows what Minsk is like. His first visit was not an official one - he spent two or three weeks of his summer vacation with his wife in Belarus. Answering the question what Belarus would gain if it became an EU member he said: "Belarus does not need to be an EU member in order to become more democratic. It does not need to be an EU member to improve the situation with human rights either. But if it did become an EU member Belarusian citizens would have a real possibility to send complaints to the European Court of Human Rights in case the state violated their rights".

For more information about the latest PACE session, the work of the European Council and its organs see http://www.coe.int.ru/

11-12 lipca 2006 r.

Barys Hamajda z Witebska handluje niezależną prasą na placu, ale w Witebsku jest festyn: „Słowiański bazar" i przyjechało dużo grubych ryb. Dlatego milicja co dzień zatrzymuje Barysa Hamajdę i karze go grzywną, żeby nie psuł niemiłymi władzy gazetami dobrego nastroju.

ONT JOURNALISTS DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT A CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST THE HEAD OF THE CHANNEL

July 11, 2006

Belarusian mass media informed that a criminal case against the head of ONT Ryhor Kisel had been started. "It was caused by peculation or embezzlement of state money - the exact accusation and the article according to which that case has been started are not clear", -- informs "Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belorussii". At the same time ONT informs that today R. Kisel is working as usual starting form 9 a.m. The press secretary Alina Pravatorava has proved the information. She said that due diligence was undertaken last week at ONT. She added that it was caused by facts of false accounting in the work of their partner - the "Telefilm" company. "There were no sanctions against ONT and no fines. Nobody knows anything about a criminal case against Ryhor Kisel".

"BRYLEUSKI LETAPIS"

July 11, 2006

The third issue of a very unusual unregistered edition "Bryleuski Letapis" is out.

But for the fact that the edition is printed and contains some photos one could think that it was a real manuscript. First of all the way the edition presents information differs greatly from many other editions - there are short stories about what is going on in the neighbourhood, in the region and in the country (the events are presented through extracts taken from regional and national newspapers). The editor and publisher of "Bryleuski Letapis" Mikola Yatskou is the head of Bryl Recreation Centre.

A well known poet and composer M. Yatskou has organized an alternative system of informing his fellow country people so that "they could understand history and the present-day situation better... Those who know a lot about the past and the present can be sure of their future", -- addressed the editor his readers in the first issue of the edition.

People living in Bryl are already asking each other about the interesting edition. "Bryleuski Letapis" - is at least the 5^thunregistered edition in Mahileu Region that does not have any more registered independent editions now.

INDEPENDENT MASS MEDIA SHOULD BE OUT OF SIGHT OF OFFICIALS

July 12, 2006

A distributor of independent editions Barys Hamaida is being detained every day as if for trade in an inappropriate place in Vitsiebsk. It must be connected with the fact that the annual festival "Slavianski Bazar" is now taking place in the city. B. Hamaida usually sells newspapers in the cente of the city right in front of the place where "Slavianski Bazar" is being held now. Yesterday, on July 11, he was detained again while selling issues of "Vitebskij Kurjer M" and fined for 1 base amount (31 thousand BRB).

They say: "It´s because of Slavianski Bazar"! There are too many officials in the city. Please, wait a bit!" - told Mr. Hamaida in an interview to radio Liberty -- international rules are being violated.

Barys Hamaida got detained again today.

JOURNALISTS FROM AN INDEPENDENT BARANAVICHY NEWSPAPER ARE BEING INTIMIDATED

July 18, 2006

On the morning of July 18 journalists working for the "Intex-Press" newspaper (Baranavichy) found leaflets containing threatening and two door-plates with the inscription "CIA´s nest" on the door of the edition´s office. Moreover, somebody wrote "No venal press" and drew a hammer and sickle in a circle on the door.

Journalists considered the leaflets to be an evident threat of violence because it was written: "Intex-Press!" Your covert CIA structure must be punished. You throw sand in people´s eyes, you are the Fifth America´s column and Europe´s dirty hairy mongrels doing your black deed. Meetings, interviews with the so-called "members of the opposition" and articles blackening the Soviet past show who you are... Successors of feats of arms"

The head of the "Intex-Press" publishing-house Uladzimir Yanukevich sent a complaint to the head of Baranavichy Department of the Interior asking to investigate the problem and find those who are responsible for it.

THE CRIMINAL CASE CONCERNING THE BATTERY AND ASSAULT OF ALEH ULEVICH RENEWED

July 19, 2006

Minsk Office of Public Prosecutor restarted the investigation of the case of Aleh Ulevich (a journalist from "Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belorussii"). This decision was taken after the journalist had sent them a complaint. A.Ulevich was informed that the previous investigation was incomplete and the case was restated "in order to find the person who inflicted body injuries on You." The case has been sent to the Department of the Interior of Minsk City Executive Committee (this department stopped the investigation at the end of May 2006).

Aleh Ulevich notes that the news sounds good: "I still hope that those people will be found and punished." The journalist thinks that it will not be difficult because the people can be seen in the video that was shot on that day; moreover, there were more than 20 witnesses. "I do not know whether the new investigation has been started just a as a matter of form or in order to punish those people."

Let us remind you that the journalist was beaten on March 2 near the office of the Kastrychnitski District Police Office while he was collecting information about the detained presidential candidate A.Kazulin.