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SRF correspondent Luzia Tschirky was taken to a police station in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and arrested. After about three hours, they released her, but not Tschirky’s acquaintance or her husband. In the interview, Luzia Tschirky reports on the details and possible background.
Luzia Tschirky
Russian Correspondent
SRF News: Luzia Tschirky, what exactly happened in Minsk today?
Luzia Tschirky: Me and a friend with her husband were on our way to a cafe. We were stopped at a traffic light and wanted to cross the street when suddenly a minibus pulled up next to us. Three masked men jumped up and said we should go with them. I immediately said that I am Swiss and that I have a journalist accreditation. I wanted to show my passport. But they grabbed me and my friends and dragged them to the minibus.
They did not tell us why they took us, if they arrested us or where they were going to take us.
Who were the men?
The minibus had no letters. Members of the OMON special unit equipped with poles were seated in the vehicle, as well as other people who, like us, were taken away. They didn’t tell us why they took us, if they arrested us or where they were going to take us. He only said that they wanted to verify our identities, but that they would not do it, but others. I kept showing my passport, also holding it up in the little cameras the men wore in their uniforms. It was very scary not knowing what was happening.
Where were you and your acquaintances taken?
At some point, the minibus stopped. They let us out and put us in a car in which two men were sitting. They said they were from the police and that now they would take us to the police station. I wanted to defend myself against that, but they gave me to understand that this would have negative consequences.
I asked to call the embassy, but was not allowed to do so.
Did you find out more about the motive at the police station?
No, they didn’t explain anything to us. There were many other people in the neighborhood who were brought in from other places. Young and old too. I asked to call the embassy, but was not allowed to do so. At some point a woman from the immigration service came and said that nothing would happen to me. Then I was allowed to go; my friends kept them at the police station.
Legend:
Luzia Tschirky after her release, together with the Swiss Ambassador to Minsk, Claude Altermatt.
twitter / claude altermatt
What reason do you suspect behind the action?
I don’t know, I think it was arbitrary. Since the presidential elections in August there have been regular anti-government demonstrations on Sundays. As I discovered later today, people gathered in small groups to demonstrate, for example, in the inner courtyards. Perhaps it was suspected that we wanted to meet other people. There were also large demonstrations in Russia today. This could have made the Belarusian authorities a bit nervous, because the two countries are culturally and linguistically very close.
Why were you in Minsk?
I got an accreditation in November and a visa in December, which I waited for months. He wanted to go to Belarus as soon as possible, but today he was away from home in the city in private. I hope my acquaintances are released quickly.
The interview was conducted by Silvana Berini.
