Brest court upholds picket ban

Brest Leninski District Court has upheld a ban on a picket applied for by local human rights defender Uladzimir Vialichkin.

The picket was expected to draw public attention to the imprisoned Viasna leader Ales Bialiatski. However, the event was banned by Brest city executive committee.

Uladzimir Vialichkin says that the court decision is predictable, since one cannot hope that the actions by local authorities to ban mass events could be considered illegal.

“The ban was upheld even though it was issued by an unauthorized official,” says the human rights defender.