No ‘extremism’ in ‘Svaboda’?

On 5 November Hrodna oblast court considered the cassation complaint against the verdict of Iuye district court by which an August issue of the Svaboda newspaper had been declared extremist. The judge Alexander Sitsko ruled to return the case to Iuye district court for review.

Bear in mind that on 9 September Iuye district court had declared Svaboda, #127 for 14-27 August 2008, extremist and ruled to liquidate 5 000 copies which had been confiscated from democratic activists. The civil case had been brought on the initiative of the head of Hrodna oblast KGB department Ihar Siarheyenka, who took for ‘extremism’ the article War in Georgia.