Artur Finkevich: ?#152;Pitifully enough, we have no other possibilities to express our opinion left…’
At 10.30 a.m. the judge of Minsk Pershamaiski Court Viktoryia Zaitsava started the trial of the youth activist Artur Finkevich, who is charged with violation of two articles of the Criminal Code: part 2 article #339 (malignant hooliganism) and part 3 article #218 (purposeful defilement of property). The last articles provides for 7-12 years of jail. The total sum of the financial pretensions of the plaintiffs to Mr Finkevich is 35 196 970 rubles. The trial took part with participation of the prosecutor Iryna Vakhnovich and Finkevich’s lawyer Aliaksandr Halieu. Before the break the court interrogated Artur Finkevich, the witness Aliaksei Ianusheuski (who had been detained together with Finkevich) and representatives of the enterprises to which Finkevich had allegedly inflicted harm by making graffiti – the residential maintenance company of Savetski borough of Minsk, Minsk Transport Company and the Factory of Gearwheels.
Mr Finkevich confessed having made the majority of the graffiti (?#152;Fed up with Him’ and ?#152;We Need a New One’) on the fences in Hikala, Kazlou, Zalataia Horka, Platonau, Baranichnaia and Brouka Streets. He stated that he made the graffiti during the presidential election campaign because he didn’t have any other possibility to express his views. He said he had made the graffiti with the aim to share his opinion with other people, not to cause any damage to buildings and other property of the plaintiffs.
Only the representative of the residential maintenance company of Savetski borough was prepared to the trial well enough. She presented to the judge the acts registering the repairs and the estimate of the done harm – 604 000 rubles. The representatives of other enterprises failed to present such documents. It’s quite interesting that the interests of the Factory of Gearwheels were represented at the trial by the vice-director on ideology Kulmanovich, who said he wanted to express his opinion on this case. The judge answered this opinion could cost 7-12 years of jail to Artur Finkevich and demanded to present the documents that could confirm the financial pretensions of the enterprise to the accused. The representatives of the enterprises didn’t have such documents with them. As a result, the judge postponed the trial to 10 May.
