News on the topic: criminal prosecution
09.08.2011 Case of new accused of 19 December “mass riot” passed to court
Sviataslau Baranovich has been kept in the pre-trial prison #1 in Valadarski Street in Minsk since 15 June. The investigation into his case is over. Soon he will be familiarized with the materials of his case. The Minsk City Court also has to decide which of the district courts of the Minsk will try the case.
05.07.2011 Andrei Pachobut sentenced to 3 years of jail with 2-year determent
Andrei Pachobut, a journalist for the Polish weekly Gazeta Wyborcza, was tried at the Leninski District Court of Hrodna. He was charged with insult of president (Artice 368, part 1 of the Criminal Code) and libel against president, (Article 367, part 1). The charges under the former articles were dropped.
28.06.2011 Verdict in Pachobut’s trial due on 5 July
Hrodna Leninski District Court continues hearing the criminal case of “Gazeta Wyborcza” journalist Andrei Pachobut. The verdict is expected to be pronounced on 5 July.
24.06.2011 Square sentences left in force again
Minsk city court considered appeals of Square convicts for more than an hour on June 24.
24.06.2011 New accused in mass riot case Baranovich imprisoned, say human rights defenders
Sviataslau Baranovich, 25, charged with involvement in the 19 December mass riot, has been in custody in Minsk detention center #1 in Valadarski Street since 15 June.
24.06.2011 Prosecutor demands 3 years’ term for journalist Pachobut
Hronda court continues hearing the case of journalist Andrei Pachobut, facing charges for libel and insult of President Lukashenka.
22.06.2011 One more person charged in mass disorder case over post-election protest
One more person, Svyataslaw Baranovich, has been charged in a mass disorder case opened following a post-election protest that was staged in central Minsk on December 19, 2010.
21.06.2011 Poczobut’s property being attached
Officers of court visited the house of Andrzej Poczobut, a Hrodna journalist for Gazeta Wyborcza.
21.06.2011 Hearing of Iryna Khalip’s cassation appeal postponed
Hearing of a cassation appeal by Iryna Khalip, the wife of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, has been postponed for a month.
17.06.2011 Minsk court dismisses appeals by Young Front leaders Dashkevich and Lobau
Today, Minsk City Court dismissed the appeals lodged by Young Front leaders Zmitser Dashkevich and Eduard Lobau against earlier verdicts, which sentenced them to 2 and 4 years of imprisonment, respectively.
17.06.2011 Andrei Pachobut’s trial to continue on June 23
It has become known that the experts have expanded their conclusion about Pachobut’s articles. The charges used to be listed on two pages and now they take 5. They have given a more detailed explanation of the things that insulted Lukashenka in those articles.
15.06.2011 Procuracy brought criminal case against blogger Yauhen Lipkovich
The Prosecutor General of Belarus initiated a criminal case concerning insult of the national flag in Yauhen Lipkovich’s blog.
14.06.2011 Hrodna: trial of journalist Andzhei Pachobut started
On 14 June the Leninski District Court of Hrodna started closed proceedings in the criminal case against Andzhei Pachobut, correspondent with the Polish weekly Gazeta Wyborcza. The journalist is charged under two articles of the Criminal Code: Article 368, part 1, “defamation of president”, and Article 367, part 1 “libel against president”, and faces 2-4 years of imprisonment. He spent two months in jail before the trial.
09.06.2011 Criminal case on mass riot: 7 accused, 13 suspects and 31 convicts (updated on 6 June)
According to information of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of 5 April, the preliminary investigation into the criminal case on the "mass riot" came to an end. Ten figurants received new, milder charges - under Article 342, part 1 (organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate the public order). All of them were tried under this article and received different penalties: 1 – personal restraint (P.Seviarynets), 6 – imprisonment with determent, 6 – conditional imprisonment and 1 – 2 years of imprisonment (Dz.Bandarenka).
03.06.2011 Brief review of the process of Belarusian anarchists
The preliminary investigation into the criminal case was accompanied with serious process violations of the convicts' rights, including: arbitrary detention, violations of the terms and procedures of detention established by the Criminal-Process Code of the Republic of Belarus (CPC), violation of the right to defense, and violation of the presumption of innocence. The detention of I.Alinevich in Moscow and his transportation to the KGB pre-trial prison in Minsk were accompanied with violations of legal procedures including the procedure of extradition of Belarusian citizens to Belarus from the Russian Federation.
