Baranavichy: organizers of People's Assembly get fined
On 11 November the Baranavichy District and City Court
finished considering the administrative cases against Viktar Meziak and Viktar
Syrytsa, who were charged under Article 23.34 of the Code of Administrative
Offenses (violations of the order of conduct of mass events) for holding a
People's Assembly on 8 October.
Witness Tamara Karlinskaya stated that Viktar Meziak and Viktar Syrytsa had
really collected signatures in support of the assembly in house #35/2 in Nakanechnikau Street
and she had personally signed for it.
Judge Stanislau Pivavar also listened to the testimonies of an officer of the
ideological department of the Baranavichy City Executive Committee, Tatsiana
Chyryk, and police major Pavel Kulhavik, who stated that Viktar Meziak and
Vitkar Syrytsa had conducted an unauthorized rally, not a local assembly.
The defendants didn't take the blame and stated that they had acted in line
with the law “On National and Local Assemblies”. Nevertheless, the judge took
the side of the authorities and sentenced sentenced each of them to a fine of
875,000 rubles.
