28 February 2008
Police in Baranavichy disperse demonstration commemorating Iryna Kazulin

Police in Baranavichy dispersed a demonstration staged on Wednesday to commemorate Iryna Kazulin who died on February 23 at the age of 48 of cancer.

Mikalay Charnavus, a local small business activist, told BelaPAN that around 30 people gathered on the central square in the evening with lighted candles and images of the late wife of former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin.

A dozen policemen were at the scene. A deputy chief of the city police department, Alyaksandr Sakuta, approached the crowd 15 minutes into the demonstration to warn them that it had not been sanctioned, and that they might face penalties.

The police dispersed mourners when they were heading for a memorial to Stalinist terror victims located not far from the city center. BelaPAN