Court dismisses Viktar Syrytsa's claim to the state-owned newspaper “Nash Krai”

On 27 August the Baranavichy City and District Court turned down the appeal of the social activist Viktar Syrytsa against the newspaper.

As we have already written, Viktar Syrytsa filed a lawsuit against the state-owned newspaper "Nash Krai”, which on 30 May had published an announcement about a cultural event in honor of the insurgents of 1863 which was to have taken place near the Milavidy monuments. Having read about this official event, Mr. Syrytsa ordered a bus and organized a journey of amateurs of history to this cultural feast on 2 June. However, nobody was present near the Milavidy monuments at 12.30 a.m. on 2 June. That's why the social activist and went to court.

He argued that the newspaper "Nash Krai" didn't provide any information about the organizer of this cultural event. The newspaper also lacked information about the specifics of the planned event, the name and location of the legal entity, etc. That's why Mr. Syrytsa demanded that the court oblige the newspaper to publish a refutation, indicating that invalid information about the event in honor of insurgents of 1863 was published on 30 May 2013. Moreover, the public activist demanded that the court exacted from the newspaper a compensation for the loss incurred by him as a result of renting a bus – 2.3 million rubles, and also exact from the newspaper the court fee he paid to file his appeal.
The defendant, chief editor of the newspaper “Nash Krai” Mikhail Shubich, stated to the court, that the newspaper had published the information received from the culture department of the Baranavichy District Executive Committee. The representatives of the executive committee Dzmitry Varvashenia and Tatsiana Yeumiankova admitted at the trial that they had hadn't timely published in the newspaper any information about the postponement of the announced event. However, the officials tried to convince the court that they had done everything possible to warn the people about the postponement of the even in honor of the insurgents of 1863, However, the representatives of the local authorities did not report exactly how they did it.

During all three court sittings Judge Volha Apanovich pretended that she was trying to seriously and professionally discriminate in this civil case,. However, in the end she completely dismissed the claim of Viktar Syrytsa to the state-owned newspaper “Nash Krai”.

 “All those present at the trial could see again that our judges are highly dependent on the executive authorities. Such a court will never be able to make an objective decision and will always comply with the state officials, not judging according to the law,” stated Mr. Syrytsa.