Journalists from Hlybokae to be tried on July 9 and 10

Journalists Tatsiana Smotkina and Dzmitry Lupach from the town of Hlybokae were charged with violating mass media laws.

They are charged with the illegal production and distribution of media products. Tatsiana Smotkina will be tried on July 9, Dzmitry Lupach will stay trial on July 10, Viasna human rights website writes.

“When they were making a police report, I refused to answer their questions because article 27 of the Constitution allows people not to give evidence against themselves. I am ready to repeat at the trial that the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus gives every citizen the right to receive information and share it with others,” Tatsiana Smotkina said.

An administrative case was opened against the journalist for the article titled “Roads in Hlybokae to become positive” that was published on Radio Svaboda's website on June 9. The case was initiated by the prosecutor's office of Hlybokae. The police was ordered to check if the journalist had accreditation and if her activity as a journalist was an offence. The police said the Smotkina's article violated the law. Chief inspector Viachaslau Baryla sent the case to the court.

Materials of the administrative case against Dzmitry Lupach were also submitted to the court. He is charged with violating article 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences for his article “Relatives of border guard who died in Hlybokae on 17 September 1939 found” that was published on Euroradio's website.