Employees of the private news agency BelaPAN detained by Belarusian police

On August 18th Belarusian police detained several employees of the agency that has distributed news on the continuously vibrant opposition movement after the crucial election one year ago. BelaPAN’s websites can no longer be reached after police searched both agency’s office and homes.

Director and chief editor Iryna Leushyna, accountant katsyaryna Boyeva and former director Dzmitry Navazhylau were detained and placed in prison suspected for acting against public orders when providing news about opposition activities in Belarus. The website Naviny.by presents news about another BelaPAN journalist, Alyaksandr Zaytsau, that police confiscated his cell phone, a PC hard disc, a tablet computer, documents and several business cards.