Belarus: Chronicle of repression

28.04.2006 22:42  In Minsk 10 people have been detained for taking part in an unsanctioned protest in support of the opposition newspaper “Nasha Niva”, Radio “Svoboda” reports.

Several protesters were released after the police completed administrative protocols.

On Friday the participants walked in procession down the central avenue of the city. They held in their hands opened copies of the newspaper “Nasha Niva”.

The authorities in Minsk stated that it was not expedient to locate this oldest Belarusian newspaper in the capital after it’s editor, Andrei Dynko, was detained during a protest demonstration on 21 March.

28.04.2006   Another leader of the opposition sentenced

One of the leaders of the opposition organization “Molodoy front” [“Youth front”], Dmytry Dashkevich, was today sentenced to 14 days administrative arrest in Minsk.

He was detained on Thursday for having taken part in the (allegedly) unsanctioned rally “Chernobyl Way” marking the twentieth anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Earlier four other leaders of the opposition, including the former presidential candidate, Aleksandr Milinkevich, had also been arrested and jailed for 14 or 15 days on similar charges.