Police Bar Svetlahorsk Entrepreneurs from Traveling to Minsk for Iryna Kazulin Funeral

Small business activist Anatol Zmitrovich resident in Svetlahorsk, Homyel region, on Wednesday morning was prevented from traveling to Minsk for the funeral of Iryna Kazulin when he was heading there together with two local entrepreneurs.

The three were traveling on a minivan. They were stopped by traffic police some 30 kilometers of Svetlahorsk.

Mr. Zmitrovich told BelaPAN by phone that he had been ordered to show up at the Svetlahorsk district police department and all the three would be driven there despite the fact that he had not received any summons earlier.

An officer reportedly had had a long telephone talk with a "boss" before telling the three that they had to go back. The police also said that they suspected the driver of being over the drink-drive limit.

According to Mr. Zmitrovich, entrepreneurs from across Belarus have agreed to flock to Minsk to attend the funeral of the woman who died on February 23 at the age of 48 of cancer.

The activist said that the police car had been standing outside his home this past night.

"Since we most likely will not be able to attend the funeral of Iryna Kazulin we would like to offer deep condolences on behalf of all Svetlahorsk entrepreneurs to Kazulin and his family," he said.