English

Police raid Radio Racyja office

Police raided the Minsk office of Radio Racyja on the evening of May 2, seizing at least two computers.

As journalist Barys Haretski told BelaPAN, the radio station's office is located in an apartment at 35 Independence Avenue and came to the attention of the police officers when they were examining all apartments in the building ahead of next week's Victory Day celebrations that will take place in Victory Square close to the house.

After noticing the radio station's logo and office equipment inside the apartment, the policemen called for back-up. As a result, two computers were seized from the office. "There was my camera in the office, they may have seized it as well," Mr. Haretski said.

The journalist said that Radio Racyja's Minsk-based staff continued their work despite the raid. "We have laptop computers and can send information, including audio files, with their help without any problems," Mr. Haretski said.

The fact that the office was raided one day before World Press Freedom Day speaks for itself, said Andrey Bastunets, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists. "I have the impression that the police started examining the office by accident but their subsequent actions, including the search and the seizure of the equipment, were fairly traditional. I see no grounds for seizing the equipment," he stressed.

Radio Racyja representatives plan to complain about the raid to a prosecutor's office.

Based in Bialystok, Radio Racyja is a Polish-funded station that has been denied accreditation as a media outlet by the Belarusian government. Its coverage of Belarusian politics is frowned upon by the authorities.