Andrei Tolchyn

Affiliated media: Belsat, Freelance journalist

Incident date: June 24, 2021

Attack type:

• Short-term detention

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Belarusian Association of Journalists

Location: Belarus, Homiel

Additional information:

The police officers in civilian clothes detained Andrei Tolchyn in the street while he was waiting for a taxi after filming relatives of political prisoners near Homiel pre-trial detention centre № 3 (on that day, the closed trial on the «Tsikhanouski case» began in the detention centre). The law enforcers forced the journalist into a minibus (at that moment, they broke his leg to the point of blood) and took him to Tsentralny District Police Department. At the police station, the journalist had a video camera with working records, a microphone, a personal smartphone, flash cards and a badge of a freelance journalist with the inscription «Belsat» confiscated. Tolchyn was held in the police station for more than 6 hours and was released in the evening after an administrative report was drawn up.