Maryna Drabysheuskaya and Yauhen Merkis are being held in a police station.
On Monday afternoon, Maryna Drabysheuskaya managed to write on Facebook that the police were taking them to Chyhunachny district police department. Yauhen Merkis was brutally dragged out of his car:
Last Friday, in the run-up to weekend protest rallies, plainclothes policemen were keeping watch over the flats of Maryna and Yauhen. On that day, two more Belsat TV contributors, Larysa Shchyrakova and Andrey Tolchyn, were arrested, as well as Zmitser Kazakevich, our reporter in Vitsebsk.
On September 12, journalist Katsyaryna Andreyeva and cameraman Maksim Kalitouski were detained during Women’s March in Minsk. Both are charged with offence under Articles 22.9 and 23.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (‘violation of the law on mass media’ and ‘disobedience to police officers’, respectively).
On September 13, Belsat TV reporter Artsyom Lyava was detained and later released. However, his car was sealed, computer and mobile phone were confiscated. A protocol was drawn up on Tatsyana Harhalyk, a freelance journalist cooperating with Belsat, under Article 23.34 (‘violating of rules of holding mass events’).
On Sumday evening, siloviki grabbed photojournalists Uladz Hrydzin and Alyaksandr Vasyukovich in the cafe ‘1067’ in Minsk; they were allegedly getting ready to send photos of Heroes’ March to their editorial offices. They had to spent the night in the notorious detention facility in Akrestsin Street.
