‘Narodnaya Volia’ confiscated from members of Yaraslau Ramanchuk’s initiative group

07.08.2008. Tags: mass media, United Civil Party, elections-2008.

On 5 August in Hrodna the police detained the civil activists Yury Istomin and Zmitser Slutski, who were collecting signatures for nomination of Yaraslau Ramanchuk a candidate to the Chamber of Rerepsentatives (lower chamber of the Belarusian parliament), and confiscated from the detainees six sheaves of Narodnaya Volia newspaper.

‘Zmitser Slutski (the headof Hrodna oblast organization of the United Civil Party) and I were collecting signatures in support of Yaraslau Ramanchuk. Suddenly we noticed a police car keeping duty near our own one.

We were collecting signatures till 9.30 pm. The road police stopped us while we were driving out of the yard where we had parked. They explained that our car allegedly resembled the car that had taken part in an accident two hours before.

However, having examined the car they stated that it was not that car, as there were no damages on its right side. Then they called to their administration and guarded us to Leninski district police department of Hrodna. We were asked what was in the sheaves that were lying in the car. We had there six wrapped sheaves of Narodnaya Volia, the last issue. They composed a report and confiscated the newspapers,’ commented Yury Istomin.

The activist believes that most probably this confiscation is connected to the fact that Ramanchuk’s leaflets appeared in Hrodna and district electoral commission #52 received several addresses that members of the candidate’s initiative group were distributing printed production with his electoral program, photos, etc. Most probably, it is a provocation directed at exclusion of Yaraslau Ramanchuk from the electoral race.

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