“PAGONYA” JOURNALISTS DUE TO BE SENTENCED TODAY 11:14, 24/06/2002
Today, June 24, at 2.30p.m. the Leninsky district court of Grodno will pass sentence to the “Pagonya” journalists Nikolai Markevich and Pavel Mozheiko. Such court proceedings are being held in the country for the first time. The reporters are charged with publishing a libelous article on Alexander Lukashenko. Neither of the convicts admits his guilt. The prosecutor demanded that the jury sentence the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Markevich to 2,5 years of jail and journalist Mozheiko – to 2 years.
Commenting on this process, the US charge-d’affaires Joseph O’Nil told the press that he is amazed that the debates are being held in the court: “Such a case cannot be a matter of court debates in any country in the globe, be it to the east or west of Belarus.” The US official also stressed that the consequences of the state persecution of Markevich and Mozheiko will all the more complicate the government’s situation. He explained his presence in the courtroom in Grodno by linking it with the “solidarity with the freedom of speech in Belarus, without which there can be no movement towards civil society and control of the government.”
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!["Nikolai]("/g/allpics/Mikola.jpg")
!["Pavel]("/g/allpics/Pasha.jpg")
Commenting on this process, the US charge-d’affaires Joseph O’Nil told the press that he is amazed that the debates are being held in the court: “Such a case cannot be a matter of court debates in any country in the globe, be it to the east or west of Belarus.” The US official also stressed that the consequences of the state persecution of Markevich and Mozheiko will all the more complicate the government’s situation. He explained his presence in the courtroom in Grodno by linking it with the “solidarity with the freedom of speech in Belarus, without which there can be no movement towards civil society and control of the government.”
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