Belarus celebrates Freedom Day (online)

19.58 Plain-clothed agents dispersed people in the Kastrychnitskaya Square.

19.51 Police urge people to leave. The people have crossed the road and are moving in the direction of Kastrychnitskaya Square. They’ve hoisted several white-red-white flags.

19.20 Participants of the action returned to the square – about 500 people are standing near the entrance with flowers. They are handing flowers to the policemen, but the latter do not take them. The demonstrators are still not allowed to approach the poet’s monument.

19.00 The people who had come to Yanka Kupala square left. The police did not let them approach the poet’s monument. The law-enforcement agencies are still checking the suspicious object.

18.58 A man approached the representative of the police’s press-center and told that plain-clothed agents had hit him in the back twice, while he had been waiting for a bus at the bus stop. The man wrote a complaint, which was accepted.

18.55 The people who were going from Yakub Kolas square to Yanka Kupala square were brutally forced back to the square and into the pedestrian subway. Detentions have been reported. The square is blocked, there are only journalists there.

18.50 The BPF Chairman Aliaksej Yanukevich and the BCD leader Vital Rymasheuski have appeared in Yanka Kupala square. They’ve put flowers at the entrance.

18.45 Victar Ivashkevich has been detained near “Padzemka” art shop not far from Victory Square subway station.

18.40. About 250 people have attempted to go from Yakub Kolas Square to Victory Square. They have been stopped by riot police chains in 200 meters. Detentions started.

18.38 A representative of Minsk police’s press-center has come out to the journalists at Yakub Kolas Square, asking them to leave and not to make a crowd. When the journalists asked him why the policemen detained people at the subway exits, he said he had no information about this. Even when the journalists showed him the video he said he was not going to comment upon a video filmed by no one knows whom no one knows where. The journalists asked why the square was blocked, and he answered: “If you are satisfied with the answer “upon technical reasons, to clean the square”, let it be so.”

18.25 People in plain clothes insist that the participants of the action should leave, Euroradio’s correspondent Ilya Malinouski reports from Yakub Kolas square. They approach everyone with demands to leave, and threats.

There are about 150 people in the square, together with journalists. There are many foreign journalists, but no opposition leaders or white-red-white symbols.

18.20 The police have detained two youngsters with white-red-white flags near Yanka Kupala square. They convoyed them further into the square. 

18.18 Women are singing "God Almighty" at the entrance to Yanka Kupala Square. There are no slogans or flags. There are no famous politicians either.

18.10 People put flowers at the entrance to Yanka Kupala square, but plain-clothed agents removed them in several minutes.

18.05 The police have found a suspicious object with wires which looked like an explosive device. The law-enforcement agents promise to let people in the square after "demining". There are about 50 common people, and much more policemen and journalists. Several people are standing near the entrance with flowers. The entrance is closed. Those who try to enter are forced to leave via the public traffic or cross the road.  

17.50 There are about 200 people in Yakub Kolas square. Plain-clothed agents stop the youth at the subway exits. The majority of people are standing at the bus-stop. There are many plain-clothed policemen, Euroradio's correspondent informs.

16-00 The police took the "Young Front" activist Julian Misiukevich from classes and delivered him to the Lenin district department of internal affairs in order to interrogate him as a witness in the framework of the unknown criminal case. He was given a subpoena.

15-10 Ryhor Piasetski has informed to  “Narodnaya Volya”, that people in plain clothes came to his parents' apartment, where the youngster is registered. They claim they need to talk to him about some urgent matter.

14-40 "European Belarus" activist Maxim Viniarski has been detained by the Maskouski district police department employees near the Musical Comedy theatre.

14-20  "European Belarus" activist Iryna Pcholkina has been detained. At the moment she is being transported to the Frunze district police department.

"Young Belarus" leaders are blocked in their apartments - policemen are trying to break into the apartments of Artur Finkevich and Nastassia Mashchava, electricity and telephones have been turned off. The policemen do not inform the reasons why they wwant to detain the youngsters.(Radio Racyja).

14-15 Policemen have detained Franak Viachorka, Pavel Pryvalau and another youngster from Homel, whose surname is being clarified, in the Central supermarket. One of the policemen, who introduced himself as Uladzimir Dzemiankou, has informed the detainees that they are suspected in having committed a "severe crime", the human rights center "Viasna" informs.

14-05 Barys Kuchynski, the leader of the BCD Slonim branch, has been detained in the polyclinics and in now being transported in an unknown direction.

14-00 Siarzhuk Huminski, Andrus Kastusyou, Dzmitry Yakubouski, Ruslan Kanavalau, Kasia Henzanskaya and a Polish citizen Krystafor Kirdzhyk were in the apartment at that moment. The policemen recorded all the youngsters' personal data and called the riot police patrol. Some time later they convoyed several people out of the apartment and transported them in two cars, the human rights center "Viasna" informs. 

13.40 Andrei Molchan, activist of the European Belarus opposition movement, has been reportedly detained by Minsk police. In a telephone conversation with human rights defenders, the activist said his apartment had been visited by the police about an hour before his detention. According to Mr. Molchan’s mother, the policemen said they wanted to forewarn him of possible prosecution for participation in the forthcoming Freedom Day celebrations, the human rights center "Viasna" informs. 

13.30. Uladzimir Niapomniashchykh, Homel activist of the For Freedom movement, was detained under unascertained circumstances this morning. The activist left his house in the morning and a few hours later his wife received a phone call from local detention center, saying that Mr. Niapomniashchykh had been detained for two days.

13.20 "Tell the Truth!" activists Aliaksandr Siarheenka and Tatsiana Laskavets have been detained in their apartment. The policemen rang the door bell for a long time first, then some of them hit the door several times and broke it - the policemen crept inside, detained the activists and delivered them to the Zavodzki police department, zapraudu.info reports.

12:30

 Brest entrepreneur Victor Tchaikovsky has been presented two summonses to appear in the tax inspection office at 14.00 today,Radio Liberty informs.

12.30 The trade union activist Mikhail Kavalkou has been arrested in Vorsha this morning. He is still in the local police department, the human rights center”Viasna" informs.

12:20. Police officers blocked the apartment of the "European Belarus" activist Maxim Viniarski.

12.10. Policemen lured the "Young Front" activist Hanna Sharuba out of her apartment and took her to the Central police station in Minsk. The reason for the detention remains unknown.

9.20 "Tell the Truth!" activist from Haradok Leanid Autukhou is being followed by the police. He noticed a police car with policemen inside near his house back on March 24. They guarded him all the night, changing cars. A KGB investigator promised to pay a visit to him on March 25.

The head of the local police department also tried to persuade Mr. Autukhou not to go to Minsk or Vitsebsk to participate in the action, on March  24, Radio Liberty informs.

8-40. Criminal investigators trying to break into Aleh Ladutska's apartment. His mother does not open the door, the human rights center "Viasna" informs.

8:40 13-year-old Ruzhana Viachorka detained

"The men introduced themselves as criminal investigators, detained my 13-year-old sister Ruzhana and interrogated her. They asked questions about me, -Franak Viachorka has informed via Twitter.

8:30 Minsk - Criminal investigators are trying to get into the apartment where the activist Uladz Valodzin lives.

8:00 A district police officer has come to the house where the charter97.org editor Natallia Radzina lives under a non-leave obligation. He has advised her not to leave the house today, as the KGB investigator is supposed to visit her, Charter-97 informs.

8:00 Police come for Hanna Sharuba

The "Young Front" activist Hanna Sharuba has informed that several policemen tried to break into her apartment "to talk". Now they are standing near the entrance, the human rights center "Viasna" informs.

7:30 Criminal investigators trying to break into Franak Viachorka's apartment 

The police are on duty near the apartment of the Viachorka's since early morning. "They have come for me, not for my father, this time", - Franak Viachorka has told on air to Euroradio. 

7:15 Policemen came to the apartment where the "Tell the Truth!" activist Pavel Yukhnevich's parents live. Pavel wasn't there, Radio Liberty informs.

6.30 Police arrived to Siarhej Pauliukevich's apartment. The youngster managed to send a text message. "The police arrived. They are taking me with them. They say they have some questions". The message was delivered at 6.49 a.m. Siarhej doesn't answer the phone now.