Mahilow region economic court Judge Valantsina Staravoitava announced that on December 19. Judge Staravoitava had considered a claim of Krychaw businessman Uladzimer Kudrawtsaw to the local authorities. The businessman demands to invalidate the decision of the local executive committee, refusing to confirm the legal address to Kudrawtsaw’s newspaper Ulasny Kamentar.

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Freimut Duve, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, has sent a letter to the head of the Ministry For Foreign Affairs Syarhei Martynaw, where he expressed his utter concern about “actions against the largest independent newspaper of the country, the “Narodnaya Volya”, which had been taken in Minsk”.

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On December 22 Panel of Judges on common pleas of the Supreme Court of Belarus did not allow the appeal of the Independent Society on Legal Research. The Society asked to recall the warnings issued by the justice department of the Minsk executive committee. After that ruling the court is to recommence legal proceedings on liquidation of the society. Besides, on December 22 in the Supreme Court started consideration of a claim of the Association of public organizations “Assambleya” against the Ministry of Justice which refused to register the Association.

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Activists of the Conservative Christian Party of the BPF [Belarusian People`s Front] Uladzimir Pleshchanka and Alyaksandr Salawyan were detained in Vitsebsk on 22 December when collecting signatures under a statement demanding the annulment of the union treaty between Belarus and Russia. Belapan learnt this from the organization`s press service.

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The European Coalition "Free Belarus" has launched a campaign to promote European values in Belarus. As Belapan learnt from the leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (People`s Hramada), Mikalay Statkevich, representatives of the European Coalition will distribute one million promotional leaflets during the campaign, which is taking place across Belarus. The leaflets contain materials about the coalition, its tasks and goals, as well as information on the European Union, which will have a common border with Belarus from 2004.

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10 years of maximum-security colony with expropriation and prohibition to take administrative positions for five years – such a heavy sentence was received by former director of Minsk Tractor Plant Mikhail Lyavonaw from the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus. Besides, Lyavonaw is to compensate the damage to the state and to the plant before February 1, 2004. The former executive of one of the most successful Belarusian plants was found guilty of embezzlement, in money laundering, in illegal opening of currency accounts, in evading personal income taxes. Lyavonaw was found not guilty of other charges. After the announcement of the verdict Mikhail Lyavonaw declare d that he is not guilty and will strive for vacating of a sentence.

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