English

Minsk offices of two Warsaw-based broadcast media outlets raided

Law enforcement officers raided the Minsk offices of two Warsaw-based broadcast media outlets on December 25.

The raids targeted the office of European Radio for Belarus and the Belsat television channel.

European Radio for Belarus, which has an official bureau in Minsk, said that the search had lasted nearly three hours.

“They took away a total of 43 items, including computers, the server, voice recorders, photo cameras and portable video cameras,” Vital Zyblyuk, deputy chief editor of the radio station, told BelaPAN.

Mr. Zyblyuk linked the raid to the recent presidential election and the growing popularity of the radio and its website.

“We tried to work impartially, without taking sides, received no complaints,” the journalist said.

He stressed that European Radio for Belarus would continue its operation in Belarus. “We have 10 journalists, they have not been stripped of accreditation. Tomorrow we will assess the damage and see what can be done,” Mr. Zyblyuk said.

No equipment or documents were seized from Belsat’s office, which is located inside an apartment that belongs to former presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich, as the staff had vacated the premises several days before the raid.

The accreditation of European Radio for Belarus expires on November 10, 2011.