Paval Marozau Suspected of Cartoon Slander of Lukashenka

20.11.2006.

Paval Marozau, member of the civic initiative Third Way, is suspected of slander of Lukashenka. RFE/RL reports, he was summoned to Minsk prosecutor’s office where he could read the investigation statement. The ground for the criminal case is political cartoons which could be downloaded from the organization’s web-site. The criminal proceedings were instigated last year. KGB searched the apartments of 3 members of the Third Way and seized all information carriers.

Paval Marozau was invited to Minsk prosecutor’s office over the phone. The investigator gave him the statement recognizing Paval a suspect of slander of Lukashenka.

Let us remind you: on August 16 2005 Minsk prosecutor’s office and KGB launched criminal proceedings for insult of Lukashenka.

KGB agents searched the apartments of Andrei Abozau, Paval Marozau, and Aleh Minich. They seized all computer equipment and all information carriers. KGB also confiscated passports of Aleh Minich and his wife Halina, and it took them a long time to get the passports back. The animators were received by their colleagues in Kyiv from Divo Production Company. Divo Production distributed the cartoons in the Internet during the elections in Ukraine. Then an international organization of animators stood up in support of the Belarusian colleagues. The organization members addressed the Belarusian embassies all over the world demanding to stop persecution of cartoon distributors in the Internet.

Aleh Minich and Andrei Abozau are abroad. Now that Paval Marozau has a status of a suspect in the criminal case, soon he might be indicted.

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