Minsk office of Belsat gets back equipment seized during recent search

The Inves­ti­ga­tion Com­mit­tee report­ed that the search was car­ried out in the frame­work of the crim­i­nal case opened under Arti­cle 188 of the Crim­i­nal Code – “defama­tion”. On the morn­ing of April 9, MES employ­ees want­ed to cut through the door in the Min­sk office of Bel­sat, but the jour­nal­ist of the TV chan­nel Miko­la Dzyaby­ola decid­ed to save the prop­er­ty from dam­age and opened the door.

The police then took away all media stor­age devices and com­put­ers, but they were soon returned.

“Of course, we are glad that we have the equip­ment back. But the ques­tion remains, why did they even take it? This inspec­tion did not bring any­thing new to the case. We do not refuse to admit a mis­take. Every­thing is clear here. Yes, we were mis­tak­en, but we apol­o­gized and print­ed a refu­ta­tion. Why was this equip­ment tak­en away and what it could bring to the case is not clear. We are hap­py that the inves­ti­ga­tors came to their sens­es and returned the equip­ment to us,” said Aleksy Dzikaw­ic­ki, Deputy Direc­tor of the Bel­sat TV chan­nel.

BAJ Protests Against Search at Belsat And New Criminal Case — Statement by BAJ Board