Freelance Journalist Beaten and Detained for Streaming from Polling Station in Minsk, to Be Put on Trial on Monday

The inci­dent took place at a polling sta­tion No.27 in Min­sk.

The jour­nal­ist was stream­ing to Face­book from the polling sta­tion, and four police offi­cers tried to pre­vent him from doing it.

 Andrus Koziel man­aged to tell his wife Vol­ha Chaichyts that the police had beat­en him hard at the moment of deten­tion. A glass door at the polling sta­tion was bro­ken with the free­lance reporter’s head that caused injuries. The jour­nal­ist was bleed­ing.

Late at night the police rep­re­sen­ta­tives told the journalist’s wife Vol­ha Chaichyts that her hus­band ‘didn’t need’ any med­ical help and that he would spend the night at the pre-tri­al deten­tion cen­tre in Akrestsin street in Min­sk.

The tri­al has been sched­uled for Feb­ru­ary 19th, 9 am Min­sk time.