Independent unions in Belarus raided, accused of tax evasion
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 3 August 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Independent unions in Belarus raided, accused of tax evasion, 3 August 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a9fb7734.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
August 03, 2017 14:34 GMT
RFE/RL's Belarus Service
MINSK – The offices of two major independent trade unions in Belarus have been raided and searched by financial police.
The headquarters of the Union of Workers of Electronic Outputs Producing Industry (REP) in Minsk and those of the Belarusian Congress of Independent Trade Unions in the central city of Salihorsk were searched on August 2 by officers from the Financial Investigations Department.
The officers confiscated office equipment and financial documents and the two organizations' leaders were interrogated.
They were told the searches were conducted as investigations were launched into alleged tax evasion by the trade unions.
REP Chairman Henadz Fyadynich told reporters on August 3 that his organization's chief bookkeeper, Ihor Komlik, has been detained and remains in custody. Fyadynich added that he was ordered not to leave Minsk as the investigation is under way.
Fyadynich also said that the case against him, his assistants, and his organization is politically motivated.
He added that the case "surely is connected to" February-March mass protests against an unpopular labor law that taxes people who are unemployed.
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