Participants of action of memory of journalist Zmitser Zavadski detained

• 8.07.2009, 9:18

The detained participants of the peaceful picket spent some hours in a militia department where printed materials were seized.

Human rights activist Raman Kislyak and “Young Front” activist Andrei Sharenda were detained at 5:40 p.m. near the Administration of the Maskouski district, where they began to hand round materials about the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance at 5:15 p.m., BelaPAN reports.

The activists were guarded to the administration building and then to the Maskouski district militia department, where they wrote explanations and were seized 59 copies of the printed materials. They were set free at 8:00 p.m.

“We are going to appeal against this arbitrary detention,” the human rights activist said. “Moreover, the examination of two similar incidents in Brest on June 11 and 16 showed that actions of democratic forces’ representatives don’t have elements of administrative offence.”

“Militiamen hinder us to spread information. We hand round only 21 copies,” Kislyak told.

On July 7, 2000, cameraman of ORT TV channel Zmitser Zavadski disappeared under uncleared circumstances on his way to Minsk-2 airport.

Officially, kidnapping of Zmitser Zavadski is considered to be solved. Officers of Almaz special squad of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Valery Ihnatovich and Maksim Malik (sentenced to life imprisonment), former cadet of Militia Academy Alyaksei Huz (got 25 years in prison), and Syarhei Savushkin, who had three previous convictions (sentenced to 12 years in prison) were found guilty in this crime.

All judgements were delivered behind closed doors. No proofs of their involvement in kidnapping of Zmitser Zavadski were presented to public. None of them admitted his guilt. The body of the disappeared journalist wasn’t found.