Vitsebsk Authorities Strictly Ban Meeting with Milinkevich

Vitsebsk authorities have prohibited a meeting of with the leader of the For Freedom! movement Aliaksandr Milinkevich. The local activists Alena Famina, Aliaksei Haurutsikau and Khrystafor Zhaliapau have received a refusal from the chairman of Vitsebsk city executive committee Pavel Losich.

In his answer Losich refers to the law On mass actions in the Republic of Belarus. ‘The refusal is very categorical: ‘I prohibit you to hold the meeting and demand that you stop preparation to it’, quoted Khrystafor Zhaliapau. ‘I’d like to emphasize, that beside my application for authorization of the meeting the executive committee received 560 signatures of Vitsebsk citizens for it. I think that this prohibition is a manifestation of the disrespect of the city authorities to these people,’ Zhaliapau said.

The applicants intended to hold the meeting on 22 February in the Mir cinema. Zhaliapau hopes that by this time they will manage to get the refusal reversed by the court and the meeting will take place.