Assembly of Pro-Dem NGOs to sue Ministry of Justice

Members of the working group for the creation of the Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs Siarhei Matskevich, Aleh Hulak and Ales Bialiatski have filed a lawsuit against the Belarusian Ministry of Justice. The claimants demand to reverse the decision by the Ministry to deny registration to the Assembly in early April 2009, due to a number of flaws in the NGO’s charter, including its name, which does not meet the regulations of the law. ‘We do not agree with the decision and consider it a politically motivated move,’ said head of the working group Siarhei Matskevich. ‘In case the Supreme Court supports the decision by the Ministry of Justice, it will mean a total ban to found associations of NGOs,’ said lawyer Yury Chavusau, who drew up the application. The Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs was founded by 7 public associations, including the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Supolnasts Center, the Belarusian Popular Front Adradzhennie, Human Rights Center etc.