19 March 2024, Tuesday, 6:34
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Pensioners Fined With Amount Of Four Pensions For Picketing

Pensioners are not going to "surrender" and pay a fine to the state.

The Babruisk pensioner Lyubou Sankevich has to pay a fine of 50 basic units for participation in two pickets in Minsk. This equals to 10 million and 500 thousand non-denominated Belarusian rubles. Lyubou Mikhailauna’s pension is 2 million and 913 thousand non-denominated Belarusian rubles, Euroradio informs.

PHOTO: RADIO SVABODA

“After paying the communal bills and buying the medications, about one million is left every month. Do you think it’s enough to live on?” – Lyubou Mikhailauna asks the rhetorical question. She lives together with her old mother and is helping to her two granddaughters: their mother died and their father’s salary is far from being enviable.

Lyubou Sankevich goes to pickets together with the activists of the civil initiative “Against lawlessness in courts and prosecutor's office”, who has been seeking dialogue with the authorities since 2007: they want to make the officials aware of their problems. They answer with run-around replies.

PHOTO BY RADIO SVABODA: LYUBOU SANKEVICH

When the head of Lukashenka’s administration was Uladzimir Makei, and the prosecutor was Ryhor Vasilevich, the activists were given an opportunity to speak; many criminal and administrative cases were reviewed. However, the participant of the initiative the lawyer Tamara Siarhei, who was also fined, said that “the government doesn’t want to hear its citizens”, that is why it tries to freeze the enthusiasm of the pensioners with fines.

“We never violate the law on mass events when we go on pickets. We always do it only after filing an application to the Minsk city executive committee. We do it in advance and in the established form and observing the corresponding procedure, but we receive the refusal without explanation, – Tamara Siarhei says. – We picketed twice in 2015 after the head of the Presidential Administration Aliaksandr Kasinets had refused to meet with us on the day of personal reception of citizens; we were not fined or detained. The situation has become worse now.”

Kasinets doesn’t meet with the activists on March 31 as well. They went to the Freedom Square holding placards. 5 people were fined for that picket. Three persons are to pay 20 basic units each, Tamara Siarhei, as an organizer of the picket, has to pay 40 basic units. Lyubou Sankevich – 30 basic units: she didn’t show in the court because of illness. After the picket that was held on May 12 the pensioner from Babruisk must pay 20 basic units more. Lyubou Mikhailauna Sankevich was found guilty of committing an offense, the verdict reads as follows:

“She has violated the order of organizing or holding meetings, rallies, street marches, demonstrations and picketing, – a Babruisk court representative explains. – The penalty as provided for by the Article 23.34, Part 2 of the Administrative Code of Belarus is a fine of 20 to 40 basic units or an administrative arrest. That is, it is at least 20 basic units. The judge gave her the minimum fine, as this article does not provide for less than 20. Moreover, she is proved guilty.”

ALIAKSANDR KAVALENKA FROM BABRUISK AT RALLY IN FREEDOM SQUARE

There aren’t any “discounts” in the courts for pensioners who want to express themselves publicly. The total amount of money, which pensioners had to pay for the pickets in spring, is 22.73 million “old” rubles.

They are not going to “give in” and pay off the fine to the state, saying that the courts should give fines to the city authorities, who violate citizens’ constitutional right to peaceful protest. That is why they go to courts with cassation appeals. If the appeals and complaints do not give results, Lyubou Sankevich is not going to pay the fine “in installments”: 20% of the pensions:

“Let them put me in prison: I have nothing to pay for!”

It’s interesting to know that a Krishnaist has been recently tried for marching along the street in Pinsk and singing to the drum. Also for alleged violation of the law on mass events under Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code, only its first part. However, in contrast to the pensioners, the Hare Krishna hymns singer has been fined only two basic units. That is, it’s cheaper to be an active Krishnaist in Belarus than an active pensioner.

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