Fine to Viktar Ivashkevich
The co-chairman of the organizing committee
to hold the People’s Assembly has been fined 1.4 million rubles). The
administrative case against the politician was heard in the Savetski district
court of Minsk on 13 October.
“The judgment was delivered by Kiryl Palulekh. The trial lasted 7.5 hours,”
human rights activist Nasta Loika told BelaPAN news agency. According to her,
the judge did not take into consideration references to the law on republican
and local gatherings and Ivashkevich’s readiness to show people’s signatures
for holding the gathering.
Under this law, the gathering should be initiated by a group of people, who
need to collect at least 10% of signatures of the people living in the city,
city district, street, quarter or house. Organizers do not need to show
signatures to any controlling bodies for registration or verification.
Ivashkevich was fined in accordance with article 23.34 of the Code of
Administrative Offenses (violation of order of organizing or holding a mass
event or a picket).
Assemblies were held in Minsk and other Belarusian cities
on October 8. They gathered from several scores to hundreds of participants
(600-700 people in Minsk). Some organizers and participants were detained, also
preventively.
The European Union earlier said it will keep a close eye on actions by the
Belarusian authorities in relation to participants of the People’s Assembly.
