Minsk Offices Of ‘Belsat’ Searched 55 31.03.2017, 10:32

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The police took all the equipment out of the office of the independent TV-channel.

The offices of the independent TV-channel “Belsat” in Minsk were searched today.





10:50 Journalist Ales Zaleuski entered “Belsat” office. The force structures officers confiscated all the technical equipment and even the banner with the sign “Belsat”. They loaded the equipment into a white mini-bus. It is also obvious that the police looked through the working papers of the journalists.

10:43 The formal reason for the search has become known. Minsk police claim that the law-enforcement agencies carry out the check upon the fact of the “illegal use of a trademark”.

“As a result of the well-coordinated checking actions, the police have detected a group of individuals who used the mentioned trademark with violation of the Art. 9.21 of the Administrative Code. To carry out the necessary procedural actions at the place of their location, the police seized audio- and video equipment and computer equipment,” – the press-center of Minsk police has said.

In September 2014, the Supreme Court satisfied the lawsuit of Andrei Beliakou and prohibited the TV-channel to use the name and the trade mark “Belsat TV” when broadcasting at the territory of the Republic of Belarus and at the internet page.

Andrei Beliakou from BELSATPLUS filed a lawsuit against “Belsat”. He demanded the prohibition of using the trademark "Belsat TV" allegedly because people associate the trademark of his enterprise with the television channel "Belsat".

10:31 Head of the department of the informational programs at “Belsat” Aliaksei Dzikavitski believes that the searches are connected with the channel’s active coverage of the events related to the protest actions against the Decree #3 and the dispersal of the Freedom Day action, both on air and at the website.

“This outraged the authorities, because we still have such a leverage and an opportunity to place a “picture” on screen, not just to show it in the internet. Now the authorities are trying to limit the information about the protests. We saw the first symptoms of that in early March, when they started detaining our journalists. “Belsat” is prepared for such actions. Our channel will broadcast the news regardless of anything,” – Dzikavitski has underlined.

10:23 Journalist Ales Zaleuski informs that the equipment was seized from the office.

The policemen with a search warrant issued by the public prosecutor’s office came to the program office near the “Academy of Sciences” metro station.

In the other office, when police broke into it, there was journalist Aliaksandr Liubianchuk. Now his phone is off.

The journalist of Belsat tried to get into the office at 9:20. At this time there was already a policeman at the entrance, who said that "investigative measures" were taking place on the spot. At that moment, at least two journalists could be in the office. It is not known whether the journalists opened the doors to the police, or the latter broke them.