Homel: court takes the side of city authorities
Human rights defenders Anatol Paplauny and Leanid Sudalenka
On 6 October Siarhei Shytsikau, Judge of the
Tsentralny Distrift Court of Homel, turned down the appeal of human rights
defenders Anatol Paplauny and Leanid Sudalenka against the refusal of the
Mahiliou City Executive Committee to authorize pickets in support of human
rights defender Ales Bialiatski, who is kept under arrest on criminal charges.
According to “Homel Viasna",
they intended to hold the pickets in the busiest places of Homel on 22 Homel.
As stated by Palina Labanava, representative of the Homel CEC at the trial, the
authorities didn't authorize the actions as the human rights defenders hadn't
paid for the services of the police, medics and public utilities, and wanted to
hold the actions in busy places (whereas there is only one officially allowed
place for such actions for a city with the population of about 500,000 people –
the ground near the Culture Palace of the Association of the Deaf “Vipra”).
Human rights defenders consider the refusal of the authorities to authorize the
action as a violation of the Constitution and the international laws. They are
going to appeal the court verdict at higher court instances.
