RIOT POLICE PUNCHES WIDOW OF MISSING REPORTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L MINSK 000759

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/15
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BO
SUBJECT: RIOT POLICE PUNCHES WIDOW OF MISSING REPORTER

Ref: Minsk 590

Classified by Ambassador George Krol for Reasons 1.4 (B,D)


1. (U) Summary: On July 7, Svetlana Zavadskaya, widow of
missing Russian cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky, and other
supporters demonstrated on October Square to mark the
fifth anniversary of Zavadsky's disappearance. Soon
after the demonstration began, OMON riot police
attempted to push the crowd off the square. The
demonstrators resisted the OMON's attempts to disperse
the group and both sides started pushing each other.
News footage at the event captured Zavadskaya slapping
an OMON officer before he punched her in the face. Both
Zavadskaya and the police department subsequently gave
different accounts of the events leading up to the
punch, but the police accused Zavadskaya of instigating
the incident. The Minsk prosecution office is
investigating the OMON and Zavadskaya's actions. End
Summary.


The Protest
--------------


2. (U) On July 7, 25 opposition activists, sympathizers,
and relatives of Russian ORT cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky
formed a human chain on October Square in Minsk to mark
the fifth anniversary of his disappearance. The
demonstrators, most of whom were in their late forties
or older, stood along Skaryna Avenue holding portraits
of Zavadski and other political figures who disappeared.
Those present included Zavadski's widow, Svetlana
Zavadskaya, his mother, United Civic Party leader
Anatoly Lebedko, human rights activist Valery Shukin,
Andrei Klimov (Klimov observed, but did not
participate),journalists and 15 BKGB officers who
roamed around the crowd.


3. (U) The "Human Chain of Concern" began at 1800, but
after three minutes, 24 OMON riot police entered the
square and formed a line between the demonstrators and
Skaryna Avenue. The OMON tried to seize portraits of
the disappeared from the resisting demonstrators, but
only managed to grab a few, which they crumpled and
threw on the ground. The OMON then surrounded the
demonstrators, compressed them into a small group, and
slowly moved them off the square. Most of the
demonstrators refused to move until the OMON began to
mildly push or grab, but poloff did not witness any
punches or overtly aggressive actions.


4. (U) As the group moved across the square, Zavadskaya
periodically yelled at the OMON, calling them
'fascists', among other things. Several demonstrators,
including Lebedko and Shukin, escaped from the group and
reformed the human chain next to Skaryna Avenue. Seven
OMON followed and again seized portraits and tried to
move the demonstrators from the square. Shukin braced
himself from moving, but three OMON officers pushed hard
enough that he fell. Shukin, however, made the fall
look more serious than what it was, and once he stood
up, held his elbow high to show that it was injured.
The three officers smirked and shook their heads as they
watched. Lebedko and the OMON got into an aggressive
shoving match until one of the demonstrators pulled
Lebedko away to calm him down. OMON officers tried to
grab his wrists, but Lebedko kept flailing his arms
away. Eventually, Lebedko and the demonstrator left the
square with seven OMON escorts, though no one touched
him as he was leaving. One man and woman would not give
up their portraits or leave, so the OMON led them by the
arm into the underpass near Skaryna. They were released
30 minutes later. No one was arrested.


Zavadskaya Punched
--------------


5. (U) On July 8, news agencies reported that one OMON
officer punched Zavadskaya as the first group was being
escorted off the square. Poloff did not witness the
incident, but Russian TV footage showed Zavadskaya
snatching an OMON officer's beret and slapping him
before he punched her in the temple. Zavadskaya
reportedly felt sick and went to the hospital later that
evening. Zavadskaya believed she had a concussion or
minor head trauma, but a doctor diagnosed her with
bruised tissue on her forehead.


6. (U) According to Zavadskaya's story, she told the


OMON to leave her alone and let her stand on the square
with her husband's portrait. One OMON officer then
grabbed her, took the portrait, and crumbled it into a
ball. She responded by snatching his beret from his
head. The officer punched her in return. Zavadskaya
feared the officer would have hit her again had another
OMON officer not pulled him away. She claimed it was a
painful experience and began crying, but the OMON would
not let her leave. "I was afraid that they would beat
me again. Every year we mark my husband's
disappearance, but no one ever beat me before."


7. (U) Head of the Minsk City Police press department
Oleg Slepchenko announced that the authorities were
investigating the incident and would determine the
legality of the OMON officer's actions. He noted,
however, that the demonstration was unsanctioned and
Zavadskaya's aggressive behavior, such as using abusive
language and slapping officers, provoked the incident.
According to Slepchenko, Zavadskaya not only snatched
the officer's beret, but slapped him and another officer
in the face. In an attempt to protect himself from a
second blow, the officer in question put out his palm as
a block and accidentally hit her. After all this, she
remained at the demonstration for another 40 minutes.
Slepchenko admitted Zavadskaya may have bruised tissue
on her forehead, but the OMON officer has a bruise on
his lip. Note: Slepchenko commented that, in his
personal opinion, no one should hit a woman.


His Word Against Hers
--------------


8. (U) On July 8, Zavadskaya told reporters that her
face felt better, but she continued to suffer emotional
stress. She announced that she had requested the Minsk
City Prosecutor's Office to investigate the OMON
officer's actions and press charges. However, changing
her story a little, Zavadskaya admitted she pushed the
officer first, but only after she had repeatedly told
him to keep his hands off of her. According to the
Minsk Police Department, the police video "explicitly"
shows Zavadskaya hitting another officer before slapping
the one who hit back.


Comment
--------------


9. (C) The incident may have been a result, though not
the one desired, of actions pre-planned by the
demonstrators. In the past, members of Free Belarus,
which includes groups such as Charter '97, Zubr, and
Zavadskaya's We Remember, have attempted to provoke the
OMON into violent retaliation in front of foreign news
agencies to capture the events on film (reftel). The
result is footage of brutal police actions against
"peaceful" demonstrators without documentation of any
prior provocations. On July 7, Russian ORT TV and other
news agencies were already in place ten minutes before
the event.


10. (C) The evening ORT TV news program repeated the
clip of Zavadskaya slapping the OMON officer before
being punched herself, but little of the events prior to
it. Poloff did not witness the altercation, but the
footage did show the OMON officer's deliberate punch to
her head and not an accidental slap with the palm of his
hand. In addition to Shukin's trumped up fall and the
fact that two demonstrators brought what appeared to be
very young grandchildren to an event they knew would be
rowdy, it is evident that the demonstrators hoped to
capture an incident on camera to attract sympathy for
their cause. Unfortunately, on the anniversary of her
husband's disappearance, it was Zavadskaya who felt the
response.

KROL