This statement was originally published on baj.by on 16 August 2020.
Belsat journalist Alena Dubovik was detained in the evening of August 10 near the Centralny police department. She was detained along with another journalist, Tatsiana Belashova. They went there to find out the fate of Belsat cameraman Vitaly Dubik, when they were detained near the police department. They were all wearing press vests and were marked as journalists. However, this did not stop the riot police.
And then … the brutality started.
– They started hitting me right away. There was a woman. In uniform. I don’t know what kind of uniform it was, I don’t remember. She was a wardress. She beat all the women. Then, on the 13th, during the trial, I refused to sign a paper stating that I was detained near the Riga shopping center. I was taken out into the corridor, and this woman started hitting me again – with her knee in the stomach, – Alena Dubovik recalls those terrible days.
But the journalist did not back down. After a lengthy process of ‘persuasion’, the authorities had to rewrite the report, indicating Alena was detained near the police department. .
“I know that a lot of people have written and talked about this wardress. They say that her name seems to be Krystsina. Maybe [she has] another name. She is blond, with long hair, about 30 years old. I really want to find the other women who suffered at the hands and feet of this wardress. I was held in the detention center on the second floor, chamber 9. If someone knows the name of the wardress, let me know,” Alena says.
Now Alena is in hospital with a suspected rupture of the ovary. Alena and her family are going to file complaints with all possible authorities, including international organizations.
Belsat asks all journalistic organizations, including international ones, to support Alena.
The post Belsat journalist Alena Dubovik hospitalised after 3 day detention and beating appeared first on IFEX.
Source: MEDIA FEED
