Authorities Declined Petition Of Editor Of “Pahonya” To Register New Newspaper :: Charter'97 :: News

The Hrodna City executive committee declined the petition of the editor-in-chief of the closed down independent newspaper “Pahonya” Mikalai Makarevich to register a new newspaper under the title “Newspaper “Pahonya”. The city executive committee regards the title of the new newspaper as practically identical to the old one, that was closed by a decision of the Supreme Economical court. In response Markevich forwarded documents to the city executive committee to registration of another newspaper “Muzhitskaya Pravda” (Simple Man’s Truth).

Mikalai Markevich is also set to appeal against the steps of the city authorities and take them to court. In his opinion, the refusel to authorize a newspaper is illegal. “The verdict of Supreme Economical Court’s Judge Zhandarau on November 12, 2001, to close down the newspaper “Pahonya” was illegal. In its turn it caused the absolutely illegal prosecution and is still affecting the minds of the local pen pushers”, -- Markevich believes.

As we have already informed, Markevich and a journalist of the closed newspaper Pavel Mazhejka are accused of “defamation of the president of Belarus”. They can be sentenced to an imprisonment up to five years.

On February 27 he and Mazhejka sent to the Public Prosecutor’s office an appeal to stop criminal proceedings for lack of corpus delicti.