Court to Consider Protest March “Can’t Live Like That!” Organizers Lawsuit Against Minsk City Hall :: Charter'97 :: News

On May 30 the Minsk city court will consider the lawsuit, filed by the Protest March organizers Valery Schukin, Dmitry Bondarenko, Yuri Khaschevatsky, Nikolai Khalezin and Timofei Dranchuk against the Minsk city hall over the illegal and unmotivated refusal of the Moskovsky court to consider their complaint over the municipal authorities’ behavior.

In response to the request to hold the March of April 19, 2002 the Minsk city hall ruled to move the place of the final meeting from the Yakub Kolas square to the Druzhby Narodov park. However, it said nothing concerning the route of the rally, also mentioned in the application form. As a result, the March’s organizers led the crowd along the previously declared route – from the Yakub Kolas to the Oktyabrskaya square along the central Skarina prospect.

This move, in its turn, provoked harsh reaction on behalf of the riot police. They brutally dispersed the rally, arresting 102 of its participants. In the aftermath of the event there took place 44 trial proceedings. 33 people were sentenced to 3-15 days of arrest, while ten were fined 200,000-1,700,000BLR. The Protest March organizers Bondarenko, Schukin and Khalezin received fifteen days of jail each, while the famous filmmaker Yuri Khaschevatsky was sentenced to 10 days of confinement.