Salihorsk: Young Front Activists Fined again

05.02.2008. Tags: Young Front, administrative trials, actions, fines, youth leaders.
Source: Saligorsk.org.

Recently Salihorsk court has abolished a number of decisions of the local administrative commissions, according to which activists of the underground youth organization Young Front were fined huge sums of money for participation in peaceful protest actions. Their cases were returned to the administrative commission for reconsideration.

As a result of the repeated consideration Khrystsina Samoilava was fined 1,5 million rubles (about 700 US dollars) for participation in the Put Communism to Tribunal action. The sitting lasted for more than 2 hours. Ivan Shyla was fined 700 000 rubles (about 325 USD) and his father Uladzimir – 350 000 (about 163 USD).

Even this time members of the commission ignored considerable violations that had been committed in the process of drawing the police reports and the facts that witnessed the groundless violence of the policemen during the detention. Nevertheless, a part of the fines were abolished forever, because of the expiry of the term for consideration of the cases. For instance, it concerns five police reports drawn up against the youth for their participation in the Solidarity action on 16 October.

The second trial differed from the first one by execution of the process norms, which had been grossly violated by the administrative commission the first time. Even witnesses were called to the sittings of the administrative commission. Of course, the majority of them were policemen.

Soon Salihorsk Young Front activists will stand another commission, for participation in an action of solidarity with the arrested democratic activists Larysa Nasanovich and Aliaksandr Tsatsura. Bear in mind that reports for participation in unauthorized action were composed against six activists of the youth movement.