Belarusian Internet resource accused of “insult” and “libel”

• 14.07.2010, 10:31

The popular regional website vialejka.org hasn’t been working for a week. Two criminal cases are initiated.

The website’s owners say the activity was stopped after two criminal cases over “libel and insult” had been initiated. While the law-enforcement bodies are looking for the site’s administrators, the authors offer to follow the news of the region on twitter. One of the first twits on the site’s account is “How the Belarusian Internet works! Half of local websites cannot be reached. They had to be hosted in Belarus, and then were disabled.”

As Radio Svaboda reports, Mikalai Suslo was called in as a witness in the Vileika’s case. His personal computer was seized for experts’ examination on a suspicion that he administrates the website. A criminal case over libel against headmistress of secondary school #1 of Vileika was opened. The militia says one of the comments to the picture on the website insults the teacher. The second criminal case was initiated over comments containing libel against another teacher, the head of the music school of Vileika.

Militiamen told Suslo they had received two requests asking to initiate criminal cases, but didn’t say had written them.

“What concerns the computer that said they would phone me in a month or two if they knew anything. They didn’t say if I would be called in again. The situation is unclear, I am considered to be a witness, but in connection with seizure of the computer I had an impression I am not just a witness,” Mikalai Suslo said.