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Expensive equipment and teddy bear seized from Australian journalist

Expensive equipment and a parachute-wearing teddy bear were seized from prominent Australian journalist Amos Roberts at Minsk National Airport on Friday as he was about to leave Belarus.

The seized equipment includes a laptop, two video cameras, a camera, an iPhone, a DVD drive, and memory devices, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

Customs officers did not provide written confirmation to Mr. Roberts that anything had been seized from him.

Mr. Roberts, a reporter with Australian television channel SBS who has official accreditation with the Belarusian foreign ministry, expressed outrage at the incident and accused Belarusian authorities of stealing the results of his seven-day stay in Belarus and his personal belongings.

The detention prevented Mr. Roberts from flying to Warsaw on Friday afternoon. He will be unable to leave Belarus on Saturday at the earliest.

Paris-based media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders has called on Belarusian authorities to return the seized equipment and teddy bear to Mr. Roberts.

Teddy bears have become an unlikely symbol of the fight for democracy in Belarus following "toy protests" staged by opposition activists in Minsk and July's drop of teddy bears on Belarus by Swedish pilots in a pro-democracy stunt. //BelaPAN