OSI Employee Arrested by KGB in Belarus

NEW YORK—A United States citizen who works as a consultant for the United Nations was arrested and detained in Minsk, Belarus by agents of the country's KGB security police.

Ilya Mafter, also a longtime employee of OSI–New York, was working on a project in collaboration with the Belarusian Ministry of Education to help expand Internet service when he was seized by the secret police on October 15.

Mafter attended a meeting on October 13 with government officials and representatives from the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the Belarusian parliament.

For more than a decade Mafter has worked for OSI on Internet infrastructure projects in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus and Central Asia. OSI’s Internet Access Program in Belarus aims to provide internet service to a broad range of governmental and nongovernmental organizations throughout the country. UNDP administers the project.

"The Open Society Institute is extremely concerned about the welfare of Ilya Mafter. Our priority is to ensure that his rights are protected and we are doing everything possible to secure his release," said Aryeh Neier, OSI president.

January 27, 2005—UPDATE: Ilya Mafter was freed and left Belarus today.