BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

22/04/2008

Belarus finally apologizes for detaining journalists

In cooperation with BNS

VILNIUS-Belarus finally apologized to Lithuania for the incident involving the detained accredited Lithuanian journalists in Minsk a month ago.

The Belarusian Ambassador issued the apology to Lithuania's Vladimir Drazhin at a meeting with the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry's Undersecretary Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa in Vilnius on Tuesday.

Journalist of the Lithuanian national television's news-desk, Ruta Lankininkaite-Ribaciauskiene, and a cameraman were detained on March 25 as they were preparing their coverage of the protest demonstration in the Belarusian capital.

The Lithuanian journalists were forcibly detained in Minsk Tuesday and taken to a militia station, where their tape recording of the actions of Belarus police and military against demonstrators was taken away.

The recording has yet to be returned to the journalists.

In response to the detention, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry handed a diplomatic note to the Belarusian ambassador, requesting a detailed investigation of the incident, as well as an explanation and return of the seized videotape.

The rally in Minsk was held to mark the 90-year anniversary of Belarusian independence.

Source:

http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/20293/

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