Svyatlana Kalinkina: “This is an attempt to intimidate independent journalists”
- 1.03.2010, 12:01
There appeared details of the search in apartment of editor of the independent newspaper “Narodnaya Volya”.
As Radio Svaboda reminds, the apartment of “Narodnaya Volya” editor Svyatlana Kalinkina was searched in the evening February 26.
Proceeding from the documents showed by law-enforcement officers, the journalist’s apartment was searched in connection with investigation of the case of “insulting former head of the Homel department of the KGB, and acting Hrodna KGB head, General Ivan Korzh”, Svyatlana Kalinkina said.
“They didn’t ask what respect I had, if I knew Korzh, wrote any materials about him. They began to search my apartment. They seized my and my son’s PCs, flash drives, and my notebook. They didn’t give any summons for interrogation in the case of Korzh. I haven’t been summoned for interrogations in this case before. The search was unexpected, it looked very odd,” the “Narodnaya Volya” editor said.
According to Svyatlana Kalinkina, the document she was shown during the search said she was an editor of the website Charter’97.
“For an unknown reason, it was said in the documents I was an editor of the website Charter’97. I read this site, but I have no connection with it. I think offend of Ivan Korzh wasn’t the real reason of the search. The real aim was to intimidate independent journalists to find the sources they use and to discourage them from writing about the KGB and governmental bodies. They want to morally disable our most active colleagues ahead of the political campaigns,” Svyatlana Kalinkina said.
We remind that Andrei Sannikov, the leader of the civil campaign European Belarus, was summoned for interrogation to the Partyzanski district militia department in a criminal case of defamation, which was instigated in the Homel region.
Last week, deputy editor of “Narodnaya Volya” Maryna Koktysh was questioned. Investigators seized a system nit for examination. “I was told this concerns the well-known hunters’ case,” Maryna Koktysh said.
The Hunters’ Case is the case instigated against 4 high ranking militia officers in the Homel region, who allegedly unlawfully organized hunt and pressed on KGB officers. The Supreme Court recognized former militiamen Yarmakou, Minenkou, and Baranau guilty, but amnestied militiaman Malaeu. One of the KGB officers in the Hmel region went to law against families of the defendants, who had allegedly slandered him.