28 June 2001
Domash signature collector appeals to public prosecutor over police high-handedness

 Yegor Vershilo, a signature collector for Semyon Domash, has filed a complaint with the interdistrict public prosecutor in Kobrin, Brest region, demanding punishment for the local police officers who he says
hindered him in gathering signatures to nominate Mr. Domash for President in this fall's election.
According to Mr. Vershilo, a police officer, who did not bother to introduce himself, detained him on June 25 for standing on a street with a sign carrying a photo of the opposition candidate and saying "Dear voters! Here you can leave your signature to nominate S. Domash for President!" Mr. Vershilo says it was the photo that the policeman did
not like, taking it as propaganda for a candidate ahead of registration. When brought to a police station, Mr. Vershilo demanded that his arrest and the seizure of his sign be properly documented. "Using foul language, the duty officer told me to get out and to never again show up in the city with signs like that," Mr. Vershilo told BelaPAN.
"The police in Kobrin either are unaware of or consciously ignore administrative and electoral regulations. They are either unable or unwilling to be civil to citizens, and they are confident they can get away with it," Mr. Vershilo said. According to him, he was told at the prosecutor's office that his complaint would be given proper consideration