Belarus Press Photo 2011 Appeal Dismissed

The judicial panel of the Hrodna regional court heard Julia Darashkevich, one of the organizers of the contest, and the lawyers Aliaksandr Birylau and Larysa Atamanchuk. Hearing the appeal took only half an hour.

The judicial panel found no grounds to dismiss the decision of the court of the first instance: Belarus Press Photo 2011 contains extremist materials and is to be destroyed. The 41 photo albums were confiscated on the border in November 2012 after having been exhibited in Belarus and abroad. The expert commission decided that the albums contained photos which showed Belarus in negative light and spoil reputation of the country.