Four Latvian citizens were detained in Belarus.[1] Their parents contacted Latvia’s foreign ministry.[1] Preliminary accounts said they had come to Belarus for a festival and that marijuana had allegedly been found in their car.[1] LETA confirmed at the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 29 July that four young people from Latvia had been detained, and that official information was still being clarified.[2] A social-media video indicated they had travelled to a festival, that marijuana had allegedly been found in their car, and that all four were detained.[2]

On 26 July four Latvian citizens, three young women and one young man, entered through the Grigorovshchina checkpoint on the way to a music festival.[3] A border-control officer saw a packet while inspecting the car.[3] An examination found that the substance in the car was marijuana, classed as a dangerous narcotic.[3] Investigators opened a criminal case for illegally moving a dangerous narcotic across the state border.[3] They were under a written undertaking not to leave and were staying in a hotel.[3]

A Vitebsk forensic official told state television that the Latvian nationals arrested on 26 July had not been found to possess banned substances.[4] The Latvians were released and were back in Latvia.[4] After the arrest they were held at a detention center and then at a hotel.[4] A Belarusian investigation found them innocent and allowed them to return home, but only after they gave interviews to local television channels.[5] They were detained and could have faced up to several years in prison.[5]