Affiliated media: "Binokl'" (Binoculars) online magazine, Online magazine

Incident date: January 26, 2021

Attack type:

• Search without a court decree

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Belarusian Association of Journalists

Location: Belarus, Brest

Additional information:

Financial crime officers came to the apartment of the Binokl’ (Binoculars) publishers to conduct an inspection of the premises as part of a large-scale tax evasion case. Laptops, flash drives, phones and stamps were all confiscated. Afterwards, they inspected and seized documents and equipment in the publication’s office, and in the office of the publisher’s sister company. Security officials said that checks were being carried out against several legal entities. After this, the publisher (and their husband) were taken to the Department for Financial Investigations for questioning. They were later released. At the same time, the police carried out an inspection of the director’s apartment, during which their computer was seized. Following this, they were also taken to the Department for Financial Investigations for questioning.