Head of UCPs executive committee demands from customs officers to return money

08.08.2006.

Source: www.charter97.org

At 10.30 am on 11 August the court of Kastrychnitski district of Minsk (Siamashka St., 33) is to consider the suit of the chairman of the executive committee of the United Civil Party Siarhei Alfer to the customs office of the airport Minsk-2. On 25 March Belarusian customs officers seized USD 80 and Euro 135 from him. As said by them, the grounds for that were suspicions that Mr. Alfer had forged money.

At the same time, money was confiscated under the same pretext from the deputy chairman of the UCP Iaraslau Ramanchuk and a public activist Volha Karach. Besides, a laptop was seized from Iaraslau Ramanchuk. None of other passengers flying Warsaw-Minsk that day had been suspected of anything like that.

Despite of the fact that more than 4 months have passed, and Siarhei Alfer had addressed the customs office many times, but the customs wouldnt return his money. There are no legal grounds for that, the UCP executive committee chairman notes.

As far as I have understood, they are not going to give me back my money, he said. It can be called banditry.

As we have informed, a few months ago money of the international coordinator of the Charter97 Andrei Sannikau were seized in the same way. USD 1,040 and Euro 260 were seized from him during a search. Though he was given a personal search document, customs officers told that money could have been forged. The money hasnt been returned to him.