Artist Ales Pushkin gets fined for congratulations on 90th anniversary of Belarusian People’s Republic
3 May the judge of Krupki district court Andrei Siz fined the well-known Belarusian artist Ales Pushkin 875 000 rubles (about 411 US dollars) for congratulating the local citizens on the 90th anniversary of the Belarusian People’s Republic. Pushkin was found guilty of insubordinations to the lawful demands of the police (Article 23.4 of the Administrative Code) and violation of the order of organizing or holding mass actions (Article 23.34).
The trial lasted for about 15 minutes only. The judge did not satisfy Pushkin’s petition for leading the trial in the Belarusian language. He also prohibited the present people to make photos. He read the materials of the administrative case, then the verdict – and the trial was over.
Bear in mind that Pushkin was detained by the police on 27 March in the central square of the town of Bobr, where he was staging a performance. He congratulated the passers-by and gave them pieces of a pie. He was tried for it only in a month.
