"We lived in an apartment, went to cafes, went on excursions" - Latvian citizen tells about the "inhuman" attitude in Belarus while the drug investigation was underway

The story of the citizens of Latvia, detained for carrying a bag of marijuana across the Belarusian-Latvian border, told the participant of this situation himself, Daniel Tsirsis.

"I am Daniel, a Latvian citizen, also a taxpayer in my country," he said. - The girls called me to the concert Viva Braslav, which happens every year in Belarus. I've never been to it. I decided to visit it and at the same time to take the girls, so they wouldn't have to travel in three.

This is not Daniel's first visit to Belarus, he says he has visited our country about 20 times. "We came to Minsk mostly as tourists or to visit someone," he said.

July 26, four Latvian citizens entered Belarus through the checkpoint Grigorovshchina. Young people - three girls and one guy - were going to a music festival in Braslav. During the border crossing, a border control officer found a small bag in the cabin of the car during the inspection.

"What is this bag you have here? - they asked at the border. - Is it yours?"

The young men said the bag did not belong to them.

The inspection dog smelled the odor of a narcotic substance. Subsequently, the examination showed that the substance contained in the bag was marijuana. It should be noted that the residents of Latvia unanimously assured that it was not theirs.

When asked how the drug could have gotten into the car, the guys suggested that the bag could have been dropped by an acquaintance of Daniel's whom he had picked up the day before.

In such a situation, according to the law, all questions must be answered by the investigation. Naturally, its mechanism was launched.

Three days later, the Latvian citizens were released from the pre-trial detention center on their own recognizance. It remained to wait for the result of all the expert examinations, to find out whether any of the four had fingerprints on the bag of marijuana.

And then the Internet started to receive strange throws with headlines like "They went to Belarus for the festival, ended up in jail", as well as accusations "in the absence of the rule of law in our country". Such throw-ins are not only unsubstantiated, but also not in favor of the investigation. In general, it looks more like an attempt to put pressure on him.

Naturally, the Belarusian side, which opened visa-free travel, is extremely unpleasant to hear such accusations. Especially when they are groundless, while the procedure of the proceedings is as legal as possible and the detainees were subjected to the most humane measure of restraint - not pre-trial detention center, but a written undertaking not to leave the country and an apartment. Who benefits from these throw-ins? Obviously not the detained guys and obviously not the Belarusian side.

Why it was necessary, Daniel himself now ponders.

When asked how they were treated after the detention, Daniel said: "Quite pleasantly. I have no complaints."

Daniel Tsirsis:

We lived at home, we were allowed to rent an apartment. We visited stores, cafes, we also went on excursions. All in all, we were treated well, in a nutshell. Everything within the law.

Did he hope that since he was not guilty, they would definitely sort it out?

"Of course, I knew I wasn't guilty," Daniel emphasized. - And also, when we were detained for 72 hours, the police said that if you are not guilty, everything will be fine with you. I believed and hoped that everything would be within the law and that we would be released home."

The boy knew his story was on the head of state's radar. "I even saw a meeting where Lukashenko said: "You can come to us, but only without drugs." In which I absolutely agree with him. No country welcomes drugs," Daniel emphasized.

The situation was resolved, the guys are innocent and are going home.