BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

05/06/2008

Belarusian KGB Targets Human Rights Activists Instead of Neo-Nazis

After political opposition activists in Vitebsk, Belarus received mailed threats from the neo-Nazi group Russian National Unity (RNU) and two of them were assaulted, the local KGB reacted by accusing a local human rights activist of "inciting ethnic hatred," according to a May 27, 2008 report by the Khartiya-97 web site. On May 23, three KGB officials burst into the apartment of Leonid Svetka, a human rights activist who has aided the targets of the RNU threats in writing their appeals to the authorities. The KGB informed him that he was a witness in the case and reportedly interrogated him for nine hours. They confiscated his computer and files, then took him to the station for further interrogation before finally releasing him. Last year, Mr. Svetka was pushed out of his teaching job, most likely as a result of his human rights work. Boris Khamayda, one of the recipients of the RNU's threats, said the following in reaction: "Instead of finding the real fascists, the KGB interrogated a man who fights against them. This is outrageous! I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the KGB has a direct connection to the writing of the letters from the neo-fascists"--a common accusation by Belarusian political opposition activists, who have been attacked on several occasions by neo-Nazis in recent years.

Source:

http://www.fsumonitor.com/stories/060408Belarus.shtml

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