Supreme Court Turns down ISLR Claim

On 11 March the college board of the Supreme Court of Belarus with Judge Yakhnavets at the head considered the cassation complaint of the PA “Independent Society of Legal Research” against the decision of Minsk City Court of 29 January 2004 to liquidate it.

The Justice Board of Minsk City Execution Committee that initiated the liquidation procedure was represented by A. Shcharbovich. The ISLR position was represented by its head Alena Tankachova and the lawyer Alesia Vidruk. Despite their convincing arguments against the liquidation the College Board decided to leave the decision of Minsk City Court in force. It only changed the reason for liquidation to “representation of interests of NGOs at trials with excess of the territorial powers of the organization”.

Numerous representatives of Belarusian organizations, OSCE Minsk office and mass media came to support the human rights activists.