Case on defamation of BSDP to be considered by appellate court
The administration of the Belarusian
Social Democratic Party and its member Mikalai Zalozny filed appeals
to the Mahiliou Regional Court against a verdict of the Leninski
District Court of Mahiliou, asking to reverse the verdict and return
the case for review.
The situation is
commented by a member of the Presidium of the Belarusian Social
Democratic Party Ihar Barysau:
"We appeal against the
court verdict, as we are dissatisfied with it. The court dismissed a
number of our petitions, during the trial, including the request to
interrogate BelaPAN correspondent Ales Asiptsou, who spoke on the
phone with the head of the Mahiliou dormitories Pavel Shyshou, who
called our party and its member Mikalai Zalozny a gang. Asiptsou's
record of the conversation wasn't heard and attached to the case file
and the audio of the interview posted on BelaPAN website was not sent
for examination. After the dismissal of our petitions we challednged
the judge and the prosecutor, but this motion wasn't granted
either."
The docial democrat says that a copy of the
recording of the conversation between Ales Asiptsou and Pavel Shyshou
was filed to the regional court along with a written transcription.
"During the trial, Shyshou refused having called our
party a gang. He stated that the voice on the recording is not his
and that it was a montage. According to him, somebody really called
him and the conversation concerned the eviction of Mikalai Zalozny
from a dormitory, but the man who called didn't introduce himself,
didn't tell that he was a journalist, didn't call the media he
represented and didn't warn he would record the conversation,"
says Ihar Barysau.
The member of the Presidium of the
Belarusian Social Democratic Party says that as it can be heard at
the audio recording, Pavel Shyshou introduces himself and the same is
done by hte journalist. Moreover, the latter asks his request to
record the conversation.
