OREANDA-NEWS. The German Foreign Ministry is investigating the circumstances of the detention of independent journalists in Belarus Alexander Burakov, who cooperates with the media company «Deutsche Welle», and the initiation of a case against them under the article on violation of the order of the action. This was announced on Friday, May 14, by the official representative of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christofer Burger, in response to a question from a DW correspondent.

According to him, the German Foreign Ministry is trying to clarify the circumstances of the case through the German Embassy in Minsk. In connection with the detention of Alexander Burakov and Vladimir Laptsevich in Mogilev and their declaration of a hunger strike, the representative of the German Foreign Ministry reiterated Berlin's principled position regarding the work of journalists: the authorities must ensure freedom of the media and opinions. First of all, this means, that journalists should be able to freely engage in their activities, Burger said: «Free, among other things, from state repression».

«We stand for this all over the world», the official representative of the German Foreign Ministry said. «In Belarus, after the falsification of the results of last year's presidential elections, there were large-scale repressions against media representatives, their temporary detention, which prevented them from performing their professional duties. This, from the point of view of the federal government, is unacceptable and clearly violates international obligations of Belarus».

Journalists Alexander Burakov and Vladimir Laptsevich, as well as the regional coordinator of the organizing committee for the creation of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party, Oleg Aksenov, were detained on May 12 at the court building, where the criminal case against the opposition politician, the co-chairman of this party, Pavel Sevyarynets, and five other people began. They are accused of «participating in mass riots» and face up to 30 days of arrest. On May 13, Burakov and Laptsevich went on a hunger strike.