Zhlobin Court Agrees with Local Municipality

Zhlobin court upheld the decision of the local city executive committee which banned a picket in support of Alexander Kazulin.

One of the picket organizers marat Afanasyeu told Radio Racyja, today Zhlobin court considered the suit of the local democratic activists against the local authorities. In the opinion of UCP member Afanasyeu, the local authorities violated the Belarusian legislation by banning to hold a picket in support of the political prisoner, former presidential candidate Alexander Kazulin.

The activists submitted an application for permission for a picket on August 15th. In the beginning the local authorities claimed there were no good spots in the town where a picket could be held. Later they referred to the decision of Maskouski court of Minsk which said that Alexander Kazulin was not a political prisoner. “When our application was rejected we decided to appeal to the district court”, -- Afanasyeu says.

According to the organizer, the city authorities were represented by the lawyer of the executive committee. During the hearing he claimed the picket organizers stirred up national hatred and destabilized the social situation in the district. The democratic activists, in their turn, asked the judge to put the words of the representative of the authorities in to the minutes of the hearing. “We plan to appeal to the regional court against the local court verdict, in order to prove the unlawfulness of decisions made by the local officials”, -- the activist added. ”