Homel court to consider appeal of Radio “Racyja” correspondent

In Homel, journalist of Radio “Racyja” Mikalai Bianko received a writ for August 26. At 10 a.m. he is to come to the Tsentralny District Court of Homel for consideration of his appeal against Homel Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The journalist is trying to appeal a warning for "illegal journalistic activity" without accreditation. Mr. Bianko believes that the result of the trial is predictable in any case. Nevertheless, he is not going to tolerate iniquity.

“In fact, I have no illusions about the fairness of the Belarusian court. I have attended enough trials to see how the so-called justice is administered in our country. However, I defend the principles of free spread of information, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, and this is more important than some decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all kinds of smaller government agencies.

The journalist's claim will be considered by Judge Maryna Damnenka. According to the estimations of human rights defenders, the total number of the days under arrest to which she has sentenced Belarusion opposition activists is 190. In the case of an unfavorable verdict, Mr. Bianko intends to appeal to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations. "If the situation changes in Belarus, the state will have to apologize and possibly compensate the caused damage," said the journalist.