Traffic policemen stopped the car by which Henadz Berdzyaniou, head of Solidarity trade union, was going to Minsk.
As reported earlier, opposition politician and former political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich invited compatriots to a protest rally, Outraged Belarusians’ March, which is to start today at 18:00.
“According to the raffic policemen, the car has suspicious number plates, and they need to check whether it has not been stolen. The car has been driven for 10 years; but they are carrying out the check today of all days,” Berdzyaniou, a resident of Polatsk, told Belsat TV.
At the moment, Berdzyanyou, the driver and two fellow passengers and the driver are staying in a police station; protocols have been drawn up on them. The policemen also sent for an expert, and this may be just the beginning of the ‘adventure’, Berdzyaniou says.
“I think the expert will be come somewhere at 17:00, so we will not manage to get to Minsk,” he adds.
Belarusian opposition parties are seeking to revoke the so-called decree on ‘idlers’ signed by president Lukashenka in April, 2015. Decree Nr 3 established the obligation of the citizens of Belarus, foreign citizens permanently residing in Belarus, stateless persons, who did not participate in the financing of public spending or participated in such financing less than 183 days (six months – ed.) in the past year, to pay a fee of 20 basic units (appr. $230).
