Belarus Expels French TV Crew

11 November 2004 -- The Belarusian Foreign Ministry says that authorities today expelled a French television crew attempting to film a documentary about an opposition student group.

The team, consisting of reporter, cameraman, and producer, were employed by the TF1 television company. It is the first time French reporters have been expelled from the country.

Belarus's government had accredited the TV crew to report on the antigovernment group Zubr, which opposes authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

The French journalists were expelled after Zubr members draped a road overpass with a large banner stating "Lukashenka lost" and the French crew filmed it.

(dpa)