Bulgarian Writer Nabbed in Belarus Safely Home

Bulgarian poet and journalist Dimiter Kenarov, who was arrested last week in Belarus, has returned safely home in the wee hours Tuesday. Despite what was perceived as a slow reaction on behalf of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry Kenarov is headed to his ho

Bulgarian poet and journalist Dimiter Kenarov, who was arrested last week in Belarus, has returned safely home in the wee hours Tuesday.

Despite what was perceived as a slow reaction on behalf of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry Kenarov is headed to his home country Monday, being expelled by plane to Prague.

Kenarov was arrested on June 29 together with his American colleague, Jason Motlagh, in Belorussian city of Mozyr , where they were planning to interview a plant director.

According to the Bulgarian Embassy in Belarus, Kenarov was found without identification documents. It remains unclear whether the documents were lost or stolen. After intervention of the Embassy of the United States, Jason was released and taken out of the country yesterday.

Last Saturday, dozens of Kenarov's friends and relatives gathered in front of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to protest what they saw as slow work on his return.

Details on why Kenarov received his temporary passport only Saturday morning, more than 48 hours after his Wednesday arrest, are still not clear.

The statement of the Foreign Ministry, published only minutes before the protest, reads that it acted "immediately" after being notified of the case, and produced the temporary passport within 48 hours of the arrest, but Belarusian "police authorities refused to allow that the document be delivered on time."

Relatives and firends of Kenarov have pointed out to a number of discrepancies in the information given to them by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including when precisely he was visited by a Bulgarian diplomatic representative in Belarus.

Dimiter Kenarov has published travel prose in editions such as The Nation, Esquire, Boston Review, New English Review, among others. He is the author of two acclaimed poetry books in Bulgarian.

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