Head of Vitsebsk branch of "For Freedom" movement demands that the police and medics abide by the law
The head of Vitsebsk regional branch of
the "For Freedom" movement Khrystafor Zhaliapau filed a
lawsuit to Kastrychnitski District Court of Vitsebsk against the
refusal of Vitsebsk city polyclinic to conclude an agreement for
serving the Freedom Day rally.
The activist considers this
refusal as groundless and asks the court to oblige the medics to
conclude the agreement for serving the mass event appointed on 25
March. The conclusion of agreements with the public utilities, police
and medics is the main conditions of the authorization of mass events
by the executive authorities. This demand is also presented in an
appropriate ruling of Vitsebsk City Executive Committee. However, it
proved to be impossible to implement it during the recent years, as
far as some of the aforementioned institutions periodically refuse to
conclude service agreements. Apart from the polyclinic, the activist
also received a refusal from Vitsebsk Region Police Department.
Mr.
Zhaliapau states that according to the Civil Code of the Republic of
Belarus certain services, including medical institutions, must
conclude agreements with citizens on a commercial basis, and refusals
in this case are inadmissible. The activists consider them to be
politically motivated and apply to court seeking the protection of
their freedom of expression. According to paragraph 4 of Article 415
of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, the court can force
the evading side to conclude such agreement.
Mr. Zhaliapau
applied to the medics as early as 25 January in order to conclude the
service agreement and received a refusal on 11 February. The date of
the court hearings on his latest appeal (concerning the forced
conclusion of the service agreement) hasn't been appointed so
far.
What concerns the refusal of Vitsebsk Region Police
Department to conclude a similar service agreement, Mr. Zhaliapau has
filed an appeal against it it the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The
formal reason for the refusal was that the service agreement could be
concluded after Mr. Zhaliapau brought the permission for the action
from Pershamaiski District Executive Committee of Vitsebsk. Thus, the
police violated the provisions stated in the ruling of Vitsebsk City
Executive Committee, according to which actions can be authorized
only after conclusion of the service agreements – which means that
the appropriate institutions must conclude them without pointing at
the absence of permission from the authorities.