On Tuesday evening, Andzelika Borys, Chairperson of the Union of Poles in Belarus, was detained in the city of Hrodna. Now she is in Leninski district police department.
Security officers made an unexpected visit to Borys’ place and took her away from there, Andrzej Poczobut, a Hrodna-based journalist and member of the Union of Poles, told belsat.eu.
An administrative case was initiated against Andżelika Borys over allegedly violating the rules of holding mass events (Article 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offences), local police officer Ihar Belazyorau told Onliner. At about 8.15 pm (local time), there were reports that a defence lawyer would have the opportunity to see Borys.
In March, another diplomatic conflict broke out between Warsaw and Minsk. This year’s commemorating the so called Cursed Soldiers by Polish organisations in Belarus resulted in the country’s Foreign Ministry’s expelling Jerzy Timofiejuk, a Polish consul in Brest, who showed up at the event. A bit later, Minsk also demanded the removal of Jarosław Książek, a Polish consul in Hrodna. The expulsion prompted retaliatory diplomatic steps – two Belarusian consuls were asked to leave Poland.
On March 11, Alyaksandr N., one of the co-founders of the Brest-based organisation Polish School, was arrested on the back of the criminal case launched over the celebration of Cursed Soldiers’ Day in Brest in late February. According to the Belarusian side, a group of persons ‘committed deliberate actions aimed at justifying Nazism and inciting national hatred’. On March 12, Hanna Panishava, the director of Polish School, was detained on her way to Belarus from Poland, then she was taken into custody as part of the above-mentioned case. Shortly before the detention, Panishava posted an appeal to the public; she believes that the authorities fabricate the charges, aiming at the liquidation of the school.
