Vitebsk: Memorial action ended with detentions

• 12.04.2012, 11:58

Police hindered people to honour memory of the victims of the terrorist attack.

Dwellers of Vitebsk arranged via social networking sites to lay flowers to the symbolic sign of the geographical centre of Vitbesk, Radio Svaboda reports. A year ago, a similar action to pay tribute to the memory of the killed people was held neat a pedestrian underpass nearby. This year, police officers threatened to detain the people participating in an “unauthorized action”, how they called laying flowers.

People had to get to the other side of the street to the eternal flame memorial. Among the people who came to lay flowers was Tatyana Kavalyova, the sister of executed man Uladzislau Kavalyou.

“We came to the Eternal Flame, lit candles and laid flowers. A police car appeared and policemen detained a man with a camera and a young man. We were laying flowers while people in mufti were standing near,” she said.

Both detained men were released after a conversation about inadmissibility of taking part in unauthorized actions. According to one of them, independent journalist Dzmitry Kazakevich, policemen did not like he had a camera. A major, who refused to say his name, told Kazakevich rudely presence of a journalist with a camera on such events may have negative consequences for him.