TUT.by chief editor's trial: Day 2 Photo Updated
In the Zavadski District Court of Minsk proceeds the criminal trial of Maryna Zolatava, TUT.BY chief editor, accused of omission of an executive.
On the first day of the trial, the prosecution announced the accusation, BelTA representatives were interviewed.
Find out more on the first hearing. TUT.by chief editor's trial: Day 1
Today the judge interviewed the chief editor of SB Belarus Segodnya newspaper, president of the National State Television and Radio Company, an employee of Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. They all claimed to have experienced some difficulties with access to the BelTA paid subscription.
In general, they noted that it didn't cause any significant harm; however, such acts damage the reputation of the media outlet.
Maryna Zolatava: BelTA has 36 paid subscribers. There is no connection between the subscription and the rating of online media outlets. We have refused to use BelTA materials for more than a year now, and this has not influenced our rating."
Chief editor of SB Belarus Segodnya newspaper Dzmitry Zhuk, who previously headed BelTA, stated that earlier there had been a verbal agreement with TUT.BY on access to the subscription, but Maryna Zolatava hadn't expressed any intention to enter into a contract.
- Ales Bialiatski and Maryna Zolatava in court
Witness Alena Kuzniatsova, head of BelTA social networks administration sector, used to claim during the preliminary investigation that, at the direction of the management, she had provided access to the paid subscription to organizations without a contract. She refused to name these organizations in court for confidentiality reasons.
Written case materials were further ushered. The prosecutor mentioned only two articles that appeared on TUT.BY before they were published by BelTA.
The court session will continue on February 14.
