Mikola Statkevich, one of the leaders of the civil campaign "European Belarus," chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada), was sentenced to 10 days of arrest by the Pershamaiski district court of Minsk for participation in May Day

A reproduction of Our Lady icon, installed on the chapel by artist Alyaksei Marachkin, was torn off. Act of vandalism happened at night.

The pretrial detention centre in Valadarski Street in Minsk continues to dilapidate. At different times many political prisoners were serving term there, from the classics Yakub Kolas, among the last being Alyaksandr Kazulin and Andrei Kim.

11 American diplomats are to leave Belarus on 3 May before noon. Four diplomats including US Charge d'Affaires Jonathan Moore, will remain in Minsk. On 30 April Jonathan Moore was given a list of US diplomats who had been declared

In the run-up to the World Press Freedom Day on May 3 at the web-site of the Belarusian Association of Journalists an on-line press-conference was held with the organization's chairperson Zhana Litvina and her assistant Andrei Bastunets.

Marya Tulzhankova, Homel activist of the youth democratic movement, was released on 2 May after 7-day arrest.

9 years ago, on May 7, 1999 a former Interior Minister of Belarus Yury Zakharanka was forcibly abducted not far from his house.