Today, the human rights NGO Law Initiative´s offices in the city of Gomel were visited by four KGB officers, carrying a search warrant for documents and information related to the youth activist Andrei Tinuta´s case. Meanwhile, Leodnind Soudalenka, a human rights defender working for Law Initiative, attended ODIHR / OSCE´s Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw. HRH F addresses the timing of the search, questioning whether KGB tries to link Soudalenka to Tinuta´s case. (05-OCT-07)
Leodnid Soudalenka, a human rights defender from Law Initiative in Gomel, Belarus, participated at ODIHR/OSCE´s Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw October 2-4. Mr Soudalenka had two interventions during the working sessions on independent judiciary and freedom of assembly.
Today, Law Initiative´s office in Gomel was visited by four KGB officers with an official permission to search for documents and information related to the youth activist Andrei Tinuta´s case. Tinuta is accused of activism for Young Front, an organisation without registration in Belarus. Working for a non-registered organisation in Belarus is illegal and punished with high fees and inprisonment. It may seem that KGB wants to link Mr Soudalenka to Tinuta´s case. The Human Rights House Foundation questions the timing of KGB´s action: if KGB´s search is caused by Mr Soudalenka´s participation and presentations in Warsaw, where the official Belarusian delegation was present. The KGB officers spent five hours at the Law Initiative´s office today and confiscated the system blocks of five computers, two copy machines, and all documents and files belonging to Mr Soudalenka.