Investigators do not see any political traces in the explosion but detain opposition members anyway
According to the deputy Minister of Internal Affaires Alyaksandr Shchurko, the Photo-fit of “the Minsk bomber” is ready. However, ERB has found out that the Photo-fit is so bad that the police do not even want to make it public. Meanwhile, 2 opposition members have already been detained in connection with the crime. However, the police claim that their political views have nothing to do with the detention.
In spite of the information provided by the deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affaires, the Photo-fit created with the help of witnesses has not been published yet. The head of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affaires Alyaksandr Lastouski explained to ERB that they simply did not want to confuse witnesses.
Alyaksandr Lastouskі: “People who will see this imperfect Photo-fit will start matching it with people they saw during the concert. The Photo-fit is real, it will prevail over the real memory. The image will erase their memories. It may distract the investigation so we would not like to show it to the public”.
At the same time, KGB members searched the flat of Ihar Korsak on Tuesday. A pack with screw-nuts and bolts and rubber gloves were found in the former opposition activist’s flat. Ihar was detained. At first he was delivered to the National Security Institute and now he is in the confinement cell in Akrestsina Street. KGB members also searched the flats of a former Alyaksandr Kazulin’s press secretary Nina Shydlouskaya and her husband Miraslau Lazouski. Miraslau was detained and delivered to Minsk and Minsk District KGB department. However, the representative of Minsk City Department of the Interior says it has nothing to do with politics.
Alyaksandr Lastouskі: “There is not much politics in the process of the incident’s investigation. We are working with the people we consider to be able to provide us with the necessary information. Officially speaking, everyone the investigation wants to interrogate is being interrogated. I would not highlight the opposition or the state organs. We are doing everything that is necessary regardless of the membership in any organizations, political views and the world outlook. The organs are interested in facts and I would not highlight politics”.
As it was informed, the police received a blasting assembly that criminals did not manage or did not have enough time to activate. Minister Navumau informed journalists that it had been examined immediately. However, according to the head of the press service of Minsk City Department of the Interior, there are no expertise results that can help the investigation.
The information about the number of blasting assemblies found in the place of the concert on Independence Day has been contradictory so far. The Minister of Internal Affairs Uladzimir Navumau said that a bomb was found after the concert, and his deputy mentioned a blasting assembly found before the concert at 10.30 p.m. According to Alyaksandr Lastouski, there were two blasting assemblies and the Minister had inexact information at that moment.
Alyaksandr Lastouskі: “The Minister said it when we were “hot in the trail” and did not have exact and impartial information about the accident. There can be contradictory information appearing right after something happens. The data should be analyzed and generalized… there were 2 blasting assemblies – one of them went off and the other one was found and eliminated”.
Many people wonder why the concert was not cancelled, why people were not evacuated from the dangerous places and why miners did not start looking for any other bombs after the first blasting assembly had been found. However, according to the policeman, the second bomb would have gone off in any case so there was no sense to cancel the concert and to evacuate people.
Alyaksandr Lastouskі: “The second bomb would have gone off anyway, it did not matter whether the concert was stopped or not. It was not a crowd of a dozen people, there were 500 thousands and it was difficult to ask them to leave. You should take into account the attitude of people to such information. Young people would have engaged in hooliganism. It was decided not to stop the concert to avoid panic. The decision was not taken by the police, but from the security agencies’ point of view, it was right”.
ERB phoned the head of the press service of the department of civil security of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affaires Olga Shklyarova to find out how our neighbours provided security during mass outdoor events. According to her, portable metal finders are a must during such festivals.
Olga Shklyarova: “Arc metal finders are used during such events. People simply walk through the arc. Two our employees are on duty near every arc, they examine visitors’ bags asking them to show what is inside – a cell phone or a camera. A rock festival “Invasion” was organized in Tver Region not so long ago. More than 50 thousand people attended it. We organized mobile groups near the spot and installed metal finders. Our employees checked people’s documents and paid attention to suspected persons, etc.”
Moreover, according to her, training sessions should be organized before every event in order to work out the actions of every security group in case something happens.
Olga Shklyarova: “Training sessions are organized before every event in order to work out the actions of every security group in case of emergency. The administration of the security forces, schemes of radio communication, the actions of the shift on duty are trained. We can also attract additional forces and receive information about possible mass infringements, etc.”
In spite of the information provided by the deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affaires, the Photo-fit created with the help of witnesses has not been published yet. The head of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affaires Alyaksandr Lastouski explained to ERB that they simply did not want to confuse witnesses.
Alyaksandr Lastouskі: “People who will see this imperfect Photo-fit will start matching it with people they saw during the concert. The Photo-fit is real, it will prevail over the real memory. The image will erase their memories. It may distract the investigation so we would not like to show it to the public”.
At the same time, KGB members searched the flat of Ihar Korsak on Tuesday. A pack with screw-nuts and bolts and rubber gloves were found in the former opposition activist’s flat. Ihar was detained. At first he was delivered to the National Security Institute and now he is in the confinement cell in Akrestsina Street. KGB members also searched the flats of a former Alyaksandr Kazulin’s press secretary Nina Shydlouskaya and her husband Miraslau Lazouski. Miraslau was detained and delivered to Minsk and Minsk District KGB department. However, the representative of Minsk City Department of the Interior says it has nothing to do with politics.
Alyaksandr Lastouskі: “There is not much politics in the process of the incident’s investigation. We are working with the people we consider to be able to provide us with the necessary information. Officially speaking, everyone the investigation wants to interrogate is being interrogated. I would not highlight the opposition or the state organs. We are doing everything that is necessary regardless of the membership in any organizations, political views and the world outlook. The organs are interested in facts and I would not highlight politics”.
As it was informed, the police received a blasting assembly that criminals did not manage or did not have enough time to activate. Minister Navumau informed journalists that it had been examined immediately. However, according to the head of the press service of Minsk City Department of the Interior, there are no expertise results that can help the investigation.
The information about the number of blasting assemblies found in the place of the concert on Independence Day has been contradictory so far. The Minister of Internal Affairs Uladzimir Navumau said that a bomb was found after the concert, and his deputy mentioned a blasting assembly found before the concert at 10.30 p.m. According to Alyaksandr Lastouski, there were two blasting assemblies and the Minister had inexact information at that moment.
Alyaksandr Lastouskі: “The Minister said it when we were “hot in the trail” and did not have exact and impartial information about the accident. There can be contradictory information appearing right after something happens. The data should be analyzed and generalized… there were 2 blasting assemblies – one of them went off and the other one was found and eliminated”.
Many people wonder why the concert was not cancelled, why people were not evacuated from the dangerous places and why miners did not start looking for any other bombs after the first blasting assembly had been found. However, according to the policeman, the second bomb would have gone off in any case so there was no sense to cancel the concert and to evacuate people.
Alyaksandr Lastouskі: “The second bomb would have gone off anyway, it did not matter whether the concert was stopped or not. It was not a crowd of a dozen people, there were 500 thousands and it was difficult to ask them to leave. You should take into account the attitude of people to such information. Young people would have engaged in hooliganism. It was decided not to stop the concert to avoid panic. The decision was not taken by the police, but from the security agencies’ point of view, it was right”.
ERB phoned the head of the press service of the department of civil security of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affaires Olga Shklyarova to find out how our neighbours provided security during mass outdoor events. According to her, portable metal finders are a must during such festivals.
Olga Shklyarova: “Arc metal finders are used during such events. People simply walk through the arc. Two our employees are on duty near every arc, they examine visitors’ bags asking them to show what is inside – a cell phone or a camera. A rock festival “Invasion” was organized in Tver Region not so long ago. More than 50 thousand people attended it. We organized mobile groups near the spot and installed metal finders. Our employees checked people’s documents and paid attention to suspected persons, etc.”
Moreover, according to her, training sessions should be organized before every event in order to work out the actions of every security group in case something happens.
Olga Shklyarova: “Training sessions are organized before every event in order to work out the actions of every security group in case of emergency. The administration of the security forces, schemes of radio communication, the actions of the shift on duty are trained. We can also attract additional forces and receive information about possible mass infringements, etc.”
