Criminal Case against Uladzimir Maliei Resumed

According to RFE/RL

Uladzimir Maliei, lawyer of HRC Viasna is again charged with libeling the head of the local vertical.

In the morning of 1 December Uladzimir Maliei, deputy of Malaryta District Soviet, vice-chair of Brest regional organization of Belarusian People’s Front, received from the board of internal affairs of Brest Regional Executive Committee the note informing that the criminal case against him was resumed.

Mr. Maliei is charged with libeling Kazimir Lapich, the chair of Malaryta District Executive Committee. In his suit Lapich stated that in his deputy inquiry (that was later printed in Nasha Slova informational bulletin) Maliei distributed libeling information about him.

The deputy inquiry concerned the duty accommodation for the former chair of Malaryta DEC that remained his private property after the retirement. According to Maliei, the present DEC administration made nothing to return this property to the state:

-- It wasn’t me who raised this problem, but my electors did, because I am a deputy of Malaryta District Soviet. They were indignant that those people worked in other places, built houses and moved out and their children lived in the flats. The question was put by the electors.

Let us remind that the criminal case was brought on 2 February 2005. The investigation lasted for four months and was stopped. However, the regional procurator’s office didn’t agree to such decision. Mr. Maliei thinks that the case could be resumed in connection with the upcoming presidential election.