Brest: no acquittal for Viktar Syrytsa and Zinaida Mikhniuk
On 11 November Stanislau Pivavar, Judge of the
Baranavichy City and District Court, fined Viktar Syrytsa 875,000 rubles under
Article 23.34, part 2, “violation of the rules of conduct of mass events”, for
holding the People's Assembly in Baranavichy on 8 October.
However, People's Assemblies don't fall under requirements of the Law “On Mass
Events”. That's why Viktar Syrytsa appealed against the fine at the Brest
Regional Court. On 1 December Judge Mikalai Hryharovich left the previous
verdict standing.
At present Mr. Syrytsa decides on filing an appeal with the Supreme Court. He
is sure that the result will be quite predictable.
Zinaida Mikhniuk, an organizer of the 8 October People's Assembly in Brest,
also appealed against a fine. She had been detained short before the assembly
and kept at the police station for about three hours. She was subsequently
charged with using obscene language in public and fined 70,000 rubles, despite
the contradictory testimonies given by police officers.
On 1 December the Brest Regional Court turned her appeal down. The activist had
little hope for a fair decision. Nevertheless, she is going to apply to higher
court instances with the aim to protect her reputation.
