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Independent journalists from Hlybokaye at law with Vitsebsk authorities

Independent journalists from Hlybokaye at law with Vitsebsk authorities

Vitsebsk regional court is to consider cassation appeals of Hlybokaye journalists, Tatsyana Smotkina and Dzmitry Lupach, on August 19.

The court of Hlybokaye district ordered to punish journalists Tatsyana Smotkina and Dzmitry Lupach for cooperation with foreign mass media without accreditation. They are going to challenge this court judgement, Viasna human rights centre informs.

Dzmitry Lupach filed a cassation appeal earlier, however the regional court is to consider it for the second time. Initially the hearing was scheduled for August 12, however the session was postponed. Both Dzmitry Lupach and his lawyer are to arrive from Minsk to Vitsebsk, his fellow journalists and human rights watchdogs were going to attend the session of the court, however Judge Svyatlana Ivanova unexpectedly stated that she needed additional time to examine the case. As a result, the journalist bore extra expenses for the visit of the lawyer to Vitsebsk.

The consideration of the cassation appeal of Dzmityr Lupach was postponed for a week. The complaint of Tatsyana Smotkina is to be considered on the same day. Such a message was received by her from Vitsebsk regional court by mail.

In July Hlybokaye district court ordered to punish Tatsyana Smotkina and Dzmitry Lupach under Article 22.9 Part 2 of the Administrative Code (illegal manufacturing and dissemination of mass media products). The both were fined 25 basic units – Br 4.5 million each.

The grounds for the administrative case against Dzmitry Lupach were the posting “Relatives of a border guard who died in Hlybokaye district on September 17, 1939, found” at the website of Euroradio. The trial over him was held on July 23, his case was considered by the chairman of Hlybokaye district court Iryna Kazak. Tatsyana Smotkina stood trial on July 28, the case was tried by Judge Lyudmila Vashchenka. The reason for the case tried in court was a news item “Roads in Hlybokaye to become positive”, which was posted on Radio Racyja website on June 9.

Drawing up the reports on administrative violation, the senior inspector of the prevention and law enforcement division of Hlybokaye police department Vyachaslau Baryla didn’t explain to journalists their rights – it is proved by absence of their signatures in the documents. The court had to correct the mistakes of the policemen: after the administrative cases were forwarded to the court for consideration, judges returned them for follow-up revision. “Revision” looked as following: one more paper was added to the cases of the journalists that they had been explained their rights on July 10, two weeks after they were summoned to the police department for investigation.

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